Nearly £100m has been pumped into Fairfield Energy, the North Sea oil and gas firm.

Riverstone Holdings made the private equity investment, which is destined to be spent on further acquisitions and boosting exploration.

Fairfield is just five years old and was set up to take over oil fields that had been abandoned by other companies.

It has acquired the Dunlin, Merlin and Osprey fields from Shell and its partners.


Former BP executive Lord Browne heads up Riverstone's European arm and will now take up a seat on the Fairfield board.

Ralph Alexander, the fund's managing director, will also join the Fairfield board as a non-executive director.

The firm’s UK base is in Middlesex but it has an operational base in Aberdeen.

50 people are employed there with many more subcontractors using the base.

Fairfield Energy chairman Ron Emerson said: "We are very pleased to welcome Riverstone as a major new investor and welcome Lord Browne and Ralph Alexander, who will be joining the board as Riverstone representatives. With a strengthened balance sheet, a quality portfolio and the right team in place, we have an excellent platform and are very excited about Fairfield's future as a highly successful exploration and production company."

(NE)