ExxonMobil has announced it will sell its Norway upstream operated activities to the private equity firm HitecVision and its subsidiary, the oil company Point Resources. The transaction amount has not been disclosed yet.
The sale agreement is expected to be completed in Q4 2017. It will involve around 300 staff (both onshore and offshore) and it means ExxonMobil will no longer maintain operating activities the NCS (Norwegian continental shelf) but will only retain its minority stakes in more than 20 producing fields, mostly operated by Statoil and Shell. The sold assets have a combined daily output of 54,000 bbl/d in 2016. Yet, ExxonMobil's remaining minority stakes in Norway produce about 170,000 bbl/d.
The concerned assets are as follows:
- A 100% operating stake in the producing Balder and Ringhorne assets and in the partially developed Forseti field
- A 90% operating stake in the Jotun A Unit, where the production was stopped in 2016
- A 77% operating stake in the producing Ringhorne Øst fields
Point Resources also takes control of the Jotun A floating production facility and ExxonMobil's Sandnes office.
With the deal signed, Point Resources becomes a significant middle-sized independent Norwegian E&P company and its daily production will reach 60,000 bbl/d (of which 6,000 bbl/d before the acquisition).