Interests held by Statoil in two production licences at the southern end of the Norwegian continental shelf are being sold under an agreement with Paladin Resources Norge.
This transaction means that the group is selling its holdings of 30 and 25 per cent respectively in PLs 143 and 239. A small oil discovery has been made in the first of these.
The two licences cover blocks 1/2, 4/4 and 4/5 on the boundary with the UK North Sea sector.
This sale forms part of Statoil’s strategy of concentrating its efforts on defined core areas, which do not include PLs 143 and 239.
Ownership will change hands once the transaction has been approved by the Norwegian authorities.