(Reuters) - Valiant Petroleum Plc (VPP.L) said on Thursday it conditionally agreed to buy one of Antrim Energy Inc"s (AEN.TO) (AEY.L) units, in a deal that would give the British oil and gas firm a majority stake in the Causeway field in the North Sea.
Valiant said it expected to assume up to 37 million pounds ($55.6 million) of potential tax losses of the unit, Antrim Causeway, along with a 30 percent interest in the Causeway field, taking its total stake to 54.5 percent.
The company said it agreed to repay a $21.75 million loan note issued by Antrim Causeway in favor of its parent company if the Causeway field gets development sanction from regulators.
Antrim also agreed to transfer operatorship of the field to Valiant, following government approval, Valiant said.
"The recent reduction in rig and service costs and introduction of the small fields allowance in the most recent UK budget are anticipated to make the Causeway field an attractive near-term project for the company," Valiant Chief Executive Peter Buchanan said in a statement.
Valiant shares were down 4.5 percent at 549.5 pence at 1544 GMT, while shares of Antrim Energy were down 10.4 percent at 77.5 pence on the London Stock Exchange.
($1=.6652 Pound)
(Reporting by Tresa Sherin Morera in Bangalore; Editing by Anne Pallivathuckal)
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