Royal Dutch Shell has announced the sale of oil and gas assets in Norway and Malaysia for a total of more than $1.3bn.
Image: Royal Dutch Shell head office in The Hague, the Netherlands. Photo: courtesy of P.L. van Till at nl.wikipedia.
The firm, through its affiliate Norske Shell, has agreed to sell its entire 44.56% interest in Draugen field and 12% stake in Gjøa field in Norway to OKEA, a Norwegian producer backed by private equity firm Seacrest Capital.
Shell Upstream Director Andy Brown said: “This deal is part of Shell’s global, value-driven $30bn divestment program and is consistent with our strategy to high-grade and simplify our portfolio.
“Shell has a long and proud history in Norway. We continue to have strategic, long-term positions in Troll and Ormen Lange and are actively seeking new growth opportunities.”
Subject to regulatory approval, the deal is scheduled to be completed in Q4 2018. Upon completion of the deal, OKEA will become the new operator of Draugen.
OKEA CEO Erik Haugane said: “This high-quality acquisition is transformational for OKEA. The Draugen field is known for its excellent reservoir properties, operational excellence and outstanding HSSE performance.
“It will not only give us substantial production and cash flow, but additional operational capability and resource with which to take advantage of future opportunities and create value.”
Separately, Shell has sold it 15% stake in Malaysia LNG (MLNG) Tiga to the Sarawak State Financial Secretary for $750m.
The acquisition increases SFS’ stake in MLNG Tiga to 25%. Other shareholders include Petronas with 60% stake, Nippon Oil Finance (Netherlands) with 10% interest, and Mitsubishi subsidiary Diamond Gas (Netherlands) with 5% equity.
Shell, however, said it will remain present in Norway by operating the Ormen Lange and Knarr fields and partnering in Troll, Valemon and Kvitebjørn fields.
Besides, Shell is drilling two exploration wells on the Norwegian continental shelf in 2018. Norske Shell will continue remain as the technical service provider of the Nyhamna Gas Processing Plant, and partner in the Norwegian full-scale CCS project and CCS test facility at Mongstad.