STATOIL Leaves Shah Deniz Gas Project, Offloads Stake To Petronas

STATOIL Leaves Shah Deniz Gas Project, Offloads Stake To Petronas

Norway's firm Statoil has left the Azerbaijan Shah Deniz Project on Monday, selling its entire 15.5% stake to Petronas in Malaysia. The stake was sold for USD 2.25 billion and it is part of asset sales for shoring up returns to shareholders. With rising costs and lowered oil prices, because of the clean energy movement, oil majors are now selling assets. French firm Total also opted out of Shah Deniz saying it would focus on operating projects.

Minority stakes are just not an attractive proposition any more. Statoil's stakes in a South Caucasus pipeline company and 2 other firms was also included in the sale transactions made by this Norwegian oil major recently. "The divestment optimizes our portfolio and strengthens our financial flexibility to prioritise industrial development and high-value growth," Lars Christian Bacher, Statoil's head of development and production activities outside Norway, said in a statement released to the press.

Shah Deniz Oil Field

This oil field is operated by BP along with 4 other partners namely Turkey's TPAO, Azerbaijan's SOCAR, Russia's Lukoil and Iran's Nico/Naftiran Intetrade Co. Statoil has also indicated that its second-quarter production from the Shah Deniz field equalled 38,000 barrels oil equivalent per day.

The EU finds the venture an important means of reducing dependency on Rusian energy importa , Reuters reported. The EU will now aim to fulfil its energy needs elsewhere.

Petronas

This is the state owned energy firm of Malaysia. Petronas has a presence in at least 22 countries along with many of them located in Southeast Asia, Central Asia, the Middle East, Africa and Latin America. It has a quarter of the total oil and gas reserves from these countries.

Petronas is an expansionary mode as it has signed agreements with Mexico and Argentina to expand operations here only last month, Bloomberg reported. With its latest acquisition, the oil company has taken a step forward in a new direction.

Of course, clean energy is where the momentum is really rising. Renewable energy is a life saver and it helps to conserve the planet's resources as well. Leaving the planet lush and green for coming generations will only be possible if clean energy is used. Oil majors can expect stiff competition from power companies that harness renewable energy.