French oil company Total announced their agreement to sell its remaining 15% stake in Gina Krog oilfield at Norway, to Kuwait Foreign Petroleum Exploration Company (Kufpec) in a deal worth nearly $317mn.
This agreement builds on the 2016 transaction between Total and Kufpec concerning Norwegian North Sea assets, which included a 15% interest in Gina Krog.
Arnaud Breuillac, the president for exploration and production at Total, commented: We have decided to completely divest our interest in the Gina Krog project and focus on other opportunities in Norway, which remains a key country for Total.”
He added: “This sale is in line with our objective to optimize the groups allocation of capital by efficiently managing our portfolio of assets. With the recent acquisition of Maersk Oil & Gas, announced on August 21, the groups position in the North Sea will be significantly strengthened.”
Upon completion of the sale, Total will no longer have an interest in the Gina Krog field, while the Kuwaiti group will have a 30% stake alongside Statoil (58.7%, operator), PGNiG Upstream International (8%) and Aker BP (3.3%). The overall consideration for both deals will total $617mn.
The Gina Krog oil and gas field started production in June 2017. Kufpec was established by its parent company Kuwait Petroleum Corporation in 1981 to engage in exploration, development and production of crude oil and natural gas outside the country. It is currently active in 14 countries with 54 assets in the international upstream sector. Total has been present in Norway for over 50 years and has played a major role in the development of a number of large fields on the Norwegian Continental Shelf.