Following the sale, Equinor no longer has any shares in Lundin Energy, which has been its partner in the Johan Sverdrup field in the Norwegian continental shelf
Equinor and Lundin Energy are partners in the Johan Sverdrup field in the North Sea. (Credit: Ole Jørgen Bratland/Equinor ASA)
Equinor has offloaded the 4.88% stake it had in Swedish oil and gas company Lundin Energy (formerly Lundin Petroleum) for a total sale price of about SEK3.3bn ($336.2m).
The Norwegian oil and gas major, in this connection, sold nearly 14 million shares it had in the Swedish firm. Following the sale, Equinor no longer has any shares in the company, which has been its partner in the Johan Sverdrup field in the Norwegian continental shelf.
Equinor previously offloaded 16% stake in Lundin Energy for $1.56bn
In July 2019, Equinor sold a stake of 16% in Lundin Energy for about $1.56bn by offloading nearly 54.5 million shares in the Swedish firm at a price of SEK266.4 ($27.14m) per share. At that time, the Norwegian oil and gas company said that it was divesting the shareholding to capitalise on the value creation from the investment it made in the Swedish firm and also for simultaneously increasing its direct ownership in the Johan Sverdrup field.
The deal made in last July increased Equinor’s direct stake in the Johan Sverdrup oil field by 2.6%.
Equinor announced its investments in Lundin Petroleum in 2016 at an average weighted cost price of SEK121 per share ($12.33), which was adjusted for the sale of International Petroleum Corporation.
Until July 2019, Equinor is said to have more than doubled the value of its invested capital in the Swedish oil and gas company.
Equinor CFO Lars Christian Bacher said: “We have created significant value and increased our direct exposure in the Johan Sverdrup field. Although we are now no longer a shareholder in Lundin, we continue to consider the company a strong partner on the Norwegian Continental Shelf.”
Equinor holds an operating stake of 42.6% in the Johan Sverdrup field, while Lundin Energy’s subsidiary Lundin Norway has a 20% stake.
The other partners in the offshore oil field are Petoro (17.36%), Aker BP (11.57%), and Total (8.44%).
Recently, the Norwegian oil and gas company said that the Johan Sverdrup field phase 1 is expected to reach plateau production in early May, which is earlier than anticipated.