UK-based independent oil and gas company Harbour Energy has signed a deal to sell its assets in Vietnam to Big Energy Joint Stock Company for $84m (£66.4m).

The assets being sold include Harbour’s 53.12% stake in the Block 12W oil and gas exploration licence, which contains the Chim Sao and Dua fields, offshore southern Vietnam.

The company’s 53.12% stake in Block 12W comprises a 28.12% operated interest held via Premier Oil Vietnam Offshore and a 25% stake, which is held through Premier Oil (Vietnam).

Big Energy, an oil and gas company in Vietnam, is a member of the Big Capital JSC group and has been engaged in upstream activities offshore Vietnam as the Bitexco Group for more than ten years.

Subject to approval from the government, the transaction is expected to close by the end of 2023.

Upon completion of the deal, Harbour will exit from Vietnam.

Harbour Energy CEO Linda Z Cook said: “We are pleased to have reached agreement to sell our business in Vietnam to Big Energy – a growing, local oil and gas player – as we continue to actively manage our portfolio.

“While Vietnam does not form a core part of our growth strategy going forward, we are proud of the quality of the business we have built, both in terms of the organisation and assets, since our country entry in 2004.”

In addition to UK and Vietnam, London-listed Harbour has operations in Indonesia, Mexico and Norway.

In June this year, it was reported that Harbour was in talks to merge with Talos Energy, a US-based oil and gas company.