Total to sell stakes in two Norwegian oilfields to Statoil for $1.45 bn
28 Nov 2017
French oil and gas giant Total SA yesterday struck a deal to sell its stakes in two Norwegian oilfields to Statoil for $1.45 billion.
Total said that the sale comes after it reviewed its portfolio post its pending acquisition of Maersk Oil portfolio, which made it the second largest operator in the North Sea. (See: Danish shipping giant AP Moller-Maersk to sell oil and gas unit to France's Total).
Under the deal, Total will sell its 51 per cent stake in the Martin Linge field and its 40 per cent holding in the Garantiana discovery on the Norwegian Continental Shelf to Statoil.
''The forthcoming acquisition of Maersk Oil... leads us to review our portfolio in this area so as to focus on the assets in which Total will be able to generate synergies and reduce their break-even points,'' Arnaud Breuillac, Total's head of exploration and production, Total said in a statement.
Total has been present in Norway for over fifty years and has played a major role in the development of a number of large fields on the Norwegian Continental Shelf.
Total holds interests in 85 production licenses and operates 32 of them. Total E&P Norge AS equity production was 235,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day in 2016.
Recently Total signed an agreement with Shell and Statoil to mature the development of a full scale carbon storage on the Norwegian continental shelf.
