A.P. Moeller-Maersk A/S won U.K. approval for a $4.5 billion development plan for the Culzean natural gas field as the Danish company tries to ramp up output at its energy division. The field, located in the central part of the British area of the North Sea, is expected to produce enough natural gas to meet 5 percent of the U.K.’s total demand in 2020 or 2021, Maersk said in a statement on Monday. Maersk Oil will be the operator of the field with a 49.99 percent stake, while JX Nippon Oil & Energy Corp. has 34.01 percent and BP Plc 16 percent. Nils Smedegaard Andersen, chief executive officer of the Maersk group, said earlier this month the company is actively searching for North Sea oil acquisitions as the drop in energy prices makes takeovers attractive. The company wants to return focus to its North Sea waters, where it first […]