Statoil, Wintershall Sign $1.45 Billion NCS Deal
Statoil has announced today a transaction with Wintershall that will see Statoil farm down its interest in several Norwegian Continental Shelf (NCS) assets, including the Gjøa and Vega fields, as well as entering the Edvard Grieg field.
Statoil said today that it will reduce its stake in Gjøa field, an oil and gas field in the Norwegian North Sea, from 20 per cent to 5 per cent. It will also reduce its stake in the Vega gas and gas condensate field from 54 per cent to 24 per cent. As a result of these farm downs, German company Wintershall will take a 30 per cent stake in the Vega field and a 15 per cent stake in the Gjøa field.
Additionally, Statoil will completely withdraw from the Brage oil field, transferring its entire 32.7 per cent stake to Wintershall.
However, Statoil has not just reduced its asset stakes through the deal. The agreement with Wintershall will see the company newly entering one field, the Edvard Grieg field (formerly known as the Luna field). As part of the agreement, Wintershall will divide its 30 per cent stake in the field by half, with 15 per cent to go to Statoil.
"The Norwegian Continental Shelf is a world class oil and gas region and with a giant discovery like Johan Sverdrup, the Utsira High has proved to be one of its most prospective areas," Statoil's executive vice president for Development & Production Norway, Øystein Michelsen, said today.
"Adding Edvard Grieg to the portfolio further strengthens our industrial position for long-term value creation in this area. Developing the Utsira High area will be one of the major undertakings for Statoil in decades to come."
The deal will be completed at a cost of $1.45 billion to Wintershall and will begin a strategic partnership between the two companies, Statoil says.
Lundin Petroleum is the operator of the Edvard Grieg field with a 50 per cent stake. OMV holds the remaining 20 per cent stake.
Statoil says that the farm downs and farm in is all part of its drive to dramatically increase production on the Norwegian Continental Shelf within the next decade.
"The NCS is and will continue to be the backbone of our company," Mr. Michelsen said. "By developing new fields and increasing oil recovery, it is our ambition to continue producing more than 1.4 million barrels of oil equivalent per day in Norway in 2020. This transaction enables a more focused portfolio on the NCS and positions us for further growth."