EnQuest ends talks to sell Kraken stake

Shares of North Sea exploration firm EnQuest fell up to 5% on Thursday after it said its discussions to sell a 20% stake in the massive Kraken development east of Shetland to Israel’s Delek Group had been terminated.

“EnQuest and Delek have ultimately been unable to reach an agreement and those discussions have now terminated,” said EnQuest in a statement.

Such a deal would have been worth up to $162 million.

EnQuest announced the talks with Delek in July but on September 8, Reuters reported that EnQuest chief executive Amjad Bseisu said the announcement about Delek talks had been “a mistake” and that talks with other potential partners were also taking place.

Last week, EnQuest said its pre-tax profit rose 51% to $149.7 million on revenue and other operating income down 12% to $391.3 million in the six months to June 30 — and the company said it continued to hold constructive discussions with its main debt and credit providers.