Energy giant Statoil sold off its stake in two major oil fields west of Shetland yesterday in a deal worth a total of £1.69 billion.
It said it was divesting its stakes in the “non-core” Schiehallion and Rosebank fields as part of a wider agreement with Austrian-based OMV in which the oil and gas company also took significant stakes in the Statoil operated Gullfaks and Gudrun fields in the Norwegian North Sea.
Statoil president and chief executive officer Helge Lund said: “Through this transaction Statoil captures value created through asset development and unlocks capital for investment in high-return projects in core areas.
“This includes our recent discoveries on the Norwegian continental shelf.
“We continue to deliver on our strategy to create value through active portfolio management and to further increase our financial flexibility.”
Statoil said it expected to recognise a gain on the transaction of between £830 million and £957m, and said it would allow it to redeploy around £3.5bn of capital to other projects by 2020.
OMV which has a long-standing presence in the North Sea will now partner with Statoil and potentially cooperate on new exploration opportunities in Norway, the UK and Faroese waters.
“I believe this is a win-win deal for Statoil and OMV,” Gerhard Roiss, chief executive of OMV, said.
“Apart from the assets, I am especially proud that we can partner with a world-class leader in offshore and enhance oil recovery technology.”
The deal is expected to close by the end of this year pending approvals.