01 October 2018, News Wires — Norway’s Equinor confirmed on Monday it had agreed to buy Chevron’s 40 percent stake in the Rosebank oilfield west of Scotland’s Shetland islands for an undisclosed sum, as Chevron shrinks its North Sea presence.
Chevron is also looking into selling its other assets, most of which it operates, in the British North Sea.
Rosebank, one of the largest undeveloped oil and gas fields off Britain, is situated some 130 km (80 miles) northwest of the Shetland Islands and could hold more than 300 million barrels, Chevron has said.
The complex project is currently estimated to cost over $6 billion, according to consultancy WoodMackenzie.
“We look forward to becoming the operator of the Rosebank project. We have a proven track record of high value field developments across the North Sea and will now be able to deploy this experience on a new project in the UK,” Equinor said.
The other partners in the field are Suncor Energy with 40 percent and Siccar Point Energy with 20 percent. Siccar Point is seeking to sell at least half of its stake.
Reuters reported on Sept. 28 that Equinor was interested in buying Chevron’s stake, citing sources close to the process. Equinor, known as Statoil then, had sold its stake in Rosebank to OMV in 2013.
The sale of the Chevron stake to Equinor is subject to customary conditions, including partner and authority approval, with completion targeted as soon as possible, Equinor said.
The California-based company kicked off a sales process for its North Sea oil and gas fields Alba, Alder, Captain, Elgin/Franklin, Erskine and Jade as well as the Britannia platform and its satellites, it said in July.
A spokeswoman said the marketing of these assets was still in the early stages and it was too soon to say whether they would be sold or not.
Chevron also holds a non-operated stake alongside BP (BP.L) and Shell (RDSa.L) in the Clair field in the British North Sea.
- Reuters
