BP to sell North Sea CATS pipeline to Antin Infrastructure

British petroleum giant BP Plc today struck a deal to sell its stake in Central Area Transmission System (CATS) business in th UK North Sea to Antin Infrastructure Partners for £324 million ($486 million).

Upon closing of the transaction, Antin will pay £302 million ($453 million) and deferred amount of £22 million ($33 million).

BP, which holds a 29.53-per cent stake is the operator of CATS, and other partners of the pipeline are BG Group with 51.18 per cent, Hess Corporation with 17.72 per cent, ConocoPhillips with 0.66 per cent, Eni with 0.34 per cent and Total with 0.57 per cent.

CATS is a combination of pipeline and processing facilities operated by BP, transports and processes gas on behalf of over 20 customers, including most of the major North Sea gas producers.

The CATS pipeline begins at a riser platform adjacent to the BG-operated Everest gas field in the Central North Sea and transports gas some 404km to the CATS processing terminal in Teesside on the North East coast of England and can handle more than 48 million cubic meters of natural gas per day.

BP said the sale will not affect its capacity to use the infrastructure owned by the CATS business.

"CATS has been a great business for BP but, aligned to the recommendations of the Wood review, we believe securing this new owner will ensure a better long-term future for this key piece of North Sea infrastructure," said Trevor Garlick, BP's regional president for the North Sea.