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- Harbour Energy announced the deal with Vietnamese group Big Energy last year
The North Sea’s largest oil producer has abandoned plans to sell its Vietnamese subsidiary to a local company for £65m.
Harbour Energy announced the deal with Vietnamese group Big Energy last year and expects to complete it this summer.
But the FTSE 250-listed group has since pulled out and The Mail on Sunday understands it is seeking a higher price.
Abandoned: Harbour Energy announced the deal with Vietnamese group Big Energy last year
Harbour is keen to leave Vietnam and its director, Linda Cook, said last year that she would like to focus on other countries. She is also working in Norway, Indonesia and Mexico.
It is the largest producer of oil and gas in the North Sea but began pinning its hopes on overseas projects after the last government imposed a one-off tax on the profits of UK energy companies.
The tax was introduced after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine sent oil and gas prices soaring, hitting households with higher bills.
The Labour Party said in its manifesto that it would take tougher action against North Sea producers by increasing the overall tax burden from 75 to 78 per cent and removing investment allowances.
Last year, Harbour saw most of its profits wiped out due to taxes.
On the Vietnam deal, in an investor prospectus, Harbour said it had “exercised its right to terminate” the initial sale agreement on May 13, adding: “Harbour intends to reassess its options with respect to obtaining the best value from its Vietnam business.”
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