Taqa buys four oil blocks from Shell, Exxon

The Abu Dhabi National Energy Co (Taqa) has bought four exploration blocks in Britain's North Sea from Royal Dutch Shell and Exxon Mobil, Taqa's UK subsidiary said in a statement Thursday.

Taqa has amassed over $2 billion (Dh7.34 billion) of North Sea assets in the last three years as part of an aggressive global expansion. The company, 75 per cent owned by the Abu Dhabi government, is an investment vehicle used to spend state oil revenues.

UK unit Taqa Bratani gave no value in the statement for the purchase of the blocks, which were near North Sea assets that Taqa had previously acquired for $631 million in 2008 from Shell and Exxon.