Canadian Natural Resources has sold its stakes in the North Sea fields Balmoral, Stirling and Glamis to compatriot oil company Oilexco, a rising star in the U.K. sector.

No selling price was disclosed.

CNR said it was paying an operating cost of C$50 ($46.47) a barrel on the 1,800 bbls per day it hauled in from the B Block fields.

The deal also give control of the Balmoral floating production vessel to Oilexco. The company’s Brenda field throughput is handled at the Balmoral FPV. CNR managers said the company was still interested in North Sea development but could move more freely now on its West African acreage.

In the North Sea, CNR International, or CNRI, operates 99 percent of its production focused on the Ninian, Murchison, Banff and T-Block fields where much “near-pool” exploration is still planned.

ws@scandoil.com