$860M Play for Offshore Oil Assets Powers Ithaca’s Entry Into Canadian Energy Game

October 5, 2026 · 13 hours ago

Ithaca Energy is breaking into the Canadian market by buying Suncor's oil assets in shallow waters off the East Coast of Newfoundland and Labrador.

UK-headquartered Ithaca Energy, an oil and gas operator and producer, has set the stage to move beyond the North Sea to expand its footprint into the North Atlantic through a multimillion-dollar cash agreement to snap up Suncor Energy’s Canadian offshore oil assets, making its first international splash and adding high-margin barrels and a new springboard for North American growth.

Ithaca Energy has announced a deal to acquire Suncor’s conventional offshore East Coast oil assets for upfront cash consideration of $860 million, alongside potential oil price-related contingent consideration of up to $250 million based on a sharing factor of 50%, subject to customary adjustments based on an economic effective date of July 1, 2026.

The company expects to fully finance the transaction through cash in hand, utilization of its borrowing base facility, and secured in-country financing. The additional $250 million of contingent consideration is linked to Brent crude oil prices over a 27-month period commencing July 1, 2026, which would be funded from Ithaca Energy’s free cash flow.

This move will diversify and enrich the UK operator’s portfolio by adding a 48% operated working interest in Terra Nova, a 40% non-operated interest in the White Rose Existing Lands, and a 38.6% non-operated interest in the White Rose Growth Lands, including the West White Rose Extension, collectively known as White Rose assets in Canadian waters.

While Terra Nova is a producing, operated shallow-water oil asset supported by a recently completed floating production, storage, and offloading (FPSO) asset life extension project, White Rose, which is operated by Cenovus Energy, has high margins with substantial near-term production growth expected from West White Rose, where first production is anticipated in Q4 2026.

The Terra Nova oil field is situated on the Grand Banks, 350 kilometers southeast of St. John’s, Newfoundland and Labrador. The field started production in 2002, using the FPSO Terra Nova.