Exxon Mobil Corporation (NYSE:XOM) is planning to sell the remaining stakes in Norwegian offshore oil and gas fields. The assets, which are up for a possible sale, include interests in 20 producing fields and several license areas.
Notably, in 2017, the company had divested operated assets in the region to private equity-backed Point Resources. Later on, Point Resources merged with Eni Norge, a unit of Italian energy major Eni S.p.A. (NYSE:E) , forming Var Energi. Daily production from ExxonMobil’s remaining assets was recorded at 96,000 barrels of oil and 374 million cubic feet of gas in 2018.
ExxonMobil, the largest publicly-traded energy company, intends to open a data room to gauge market interest for its Norwegian offshore oil and gas fields. Per S&P Global (NYSE:SPGI) Platts, the company is yet to take a decision regarding the potential divestment.
The divestment is expected to enable the Zacks Rank #3 (Hold) firm to focus more on the U.S. Permian Basin, Brazil, Guyana, Mozambique and Papua New Guinea, with plenty of growth prospects. However, the divestment plan excludes the company’s Slagen refinery business. A Norwegian business newspaper expects the value of the offshore assets to be divested within $3-$4 billion. You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.
It seems like major producers are leaving the Norwegian offshore region, as predicted by the CEO of OKEA, Eric Hagane. He told Reuters that major producers will leave the Norwegian Continental Shelf, except Equinor ASA (NYSE:E) , in a decade. Resultantly, the assets will be up for grab for smaller independent companies. Other companies that are either exiting the region or scaling down their presence therein include Chevron Corporation (NYSE:CVX) , BP plc (LON:BP) and Royal Dutch Shell (LON:RDSa) plc.
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