The 28 per cent interest held by Statoil in the Varg field in the Norwegian North Sea has been sold to operator Petroleum Geo-Services (PGS).
Under this agreement, PGS is due to take over the holding in production licence 038 with effect from 1 August.
The transaction will leave that company with 70 per cent of the licence, while Petoro (for the state’s direct financial interest) holds 30 per cent.
“This sale marks another step towards concentrating our efforts on our defined core areas,” comments Øyvind Bratsberg, senior vice president for Statoil’s Troll-Sleipner business cluster.
The deal is subject to the necessary approvals being obtained from the Norwegian authorities.
Varg is being produced via an unstaffed wellhead platform and the Petrojarl Varg production ship. PL 038 lies in block 15/12, 32 kilometres south of Statoil’s Sleipner fields.