Irish-founded exploration company Tullow Oil has agreed to acquire Norweigan firm Spring Energy in a deal worth $372 million (€288 million).

The move will add to Tullow's exploration prospects in the North, Norwegian and Barents Seas. Tullow will sell its existing North Sea holdings in the UK and the Netherlands, it said in a statement today.

Spring Energy holds 28 licences across Norway's continental shelf and plans to drill 16 exploration wells over the next two years.

The deal includes as much as $300 million in bonus payments to the vendors of Spring Energy in the event of exploration success.

"These transactions are part of Tullow's exploration-led strategy," Tullow chief executive Officer Aidan Heavey said in the statement.

We are "ensuring efficient allocation of capital by monetizing non-core assets and re-investing the proceeds in high potential oil exploration."

Spring Energy chief executive will become managing director of Tullow Norge, managing Tullow's assets in Norway and Greenland. Spring is 88 per cent owned by private equity investor.

Bloomberg