UK forces sale of Russian billionaire's North Sea fields

LONDON: Britain's energy minister has decided to force Russian billionaire Mikhail Fridman to sell North Sea gas fields he recently acquired as part of a $5.4 billion takeover deal of DEA, the former oil and gas unit of Germany's RWE.

The decision comes two weeks ahead of a general election in Britain and further sours Britain's relations with Russia in light of Western sanctions over Russia's involvement in Ukraine.

"The Secretary of State Ed Davey ... proposes to revoke DEA UK's North Sea petroleum licences unless LetterOne arranges for a further change of control of the DEA UK gas fields in the North Sea," the ministry said in a statement.

LetterOne has up to six months to make a change in ownership, the ministry added.

The company was not immediately available for comment.

The decision comes weeks after the British government first announced its objections to LetterOne's ownership of North Sea assets, saying it was concerned energy production from the fields could be interrupted if sanctions against Russia were extended.