Norway's Statoil sells off $2.6bn North Sea stake
Richard Orange - [email protected]
Published: 19 Aug, 2013 CET.
Updated: Mon 19 Aug 2013 10:36 CET
Norwegian oil company Statoil has sold off a $2.6bn (NOK15.4bn) stake in two of its key North Sea oil and gas fields, freeing up cash to invest in new, more profitable ventures.
The Norwegian state oil group sold Austria's OMV a 19 per cent stake in the Gullfaks field and a 24 per cent stake in the Gudrun field. Both are mature fields discovered in the 1970s, which are now long past their peak production. "Through this transaction, Statoil captures value created through asset development and unlocks capital for investment in high return projects in core areas," Helge Lund, Statoil's president and chief executive, said in a statement. "We continue to deliver on our strategy to create value through active portfolio management and to further increase our financial flexibility." The company also sold the Austrian company its minority stakes in two new projects West of the Shetland Islands -- a 30 per cent stake in the Rosebank development and 6 percent in the Schiehallion field. The payment could rise to up to $3.15bn by the time the transaction closes at the end of the year.
Comments
See Also
The Norwegian state oil group sold Austria's OMV a 19 per cent stake in the Gullfaks field and a 24 per cent stake in the Gudrun field. Both are mature fields discovered in the 1970s, which are now long past their peak production.
"Through this transaction, Statoil captures value created through asset development and unlocks capital for investment in high return projects in core areas," Helge Lund, Statoil's president and chief executive, said in a statement. "We continue to deliver on our strategy to create value through active portfolio management and to further increase our financial flexibility."
The company also sold the Austrian company its minority stakes in two new projects West of the Shetland Islands -- a 30 per cent stake in the Rosebank development and 6 percent in the Schiehallion field.
The payment could rise to up to $3.15bn by the time the transaction closes at the end of the year.
Join the conversation in our comments section below. Share your own views and experience and if you have a question or suggestion for our journalists then email us at [email protected].
Please keep comments civil, constructive and on topic – and make sure to read our terms of use before getting involved.
Please log in here to leave a comment.