Statoil sells interest in Shah Deniz, SCPC, AGSC to PETRONAS
By Aynur Jafarova
The Norwegian Statoil company has sold its 15.5 percent participating interest in the Shah Deniz production sharing agreement, 15.5 percent share in the South Caucasus Pipeline Company (SCPC), 15.5 percent share in the SCPC holding company, and 12.4 percent share in the Azerbaijan Gas Supply Company (AGSC) to the Malaysian oil and gas company PETRONAS.
The transaction value is $2.25 billion, Statoil said on October 13.
"Statoil has created significant value by participating in the development of this asset over the years and we are pleased to announce this deal with PETRONAS. The divestment optimizes our portfolio and strengthens our financial flexibility to priorities industrial development and high-value growth," Lars Christian Bacher, executive vice president for Development and Production International in Statoil said.
Statoil's production in the second quarter of 2014 from the Shah Deniz field was 38,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day.
"We remain committed to our business in Azerbaijan, which continues to play an important role in Statoil's international portfolio," Bacher added.
The effective date is January 1, 2014. The transaction is expected to be closed early 2015, subject to approval from the relevant authorities.
In May, Statoil sold 10 percent of its 25.5-percent interest in the Shah Deniz Production Sharing Agreement and the SCPC to Azerbaijan's state energy company SOCAR (6.7 percent) and British BP (3.3 percent).
The Norwegian company signed an agreement in December 2013 to divest a 10-percent share of its 25.5-percent holdings in the projects.
The Shah Deniz field, one of the world's largest gas-condensate fields, was discovered in 1999. Its reserves are estimated at 1.2 trillion cubic meters of gas. Overall, the field has proven to be a secure and reliable supplier of gas to Azerbaijan, Georgia, Turkey, and Europe.
The gas which will be produced at the second stage of Azerbaijan's Shah Deniz field development will be the main source of the Southern Gas Corridor, which envisages the transportation of the Caspian gas to European markets.