Licence interests on offer

Interests in 32 Norwegian offshore licences are to be sold or swapped by Statoil in order to concentrate the group’s operations on its core areas.

Detailed information on the respective holdings will be made available to the market in June, with 30 August as the deadline for bids.

Agreements are expected to be concluded by 1 October in this Pegasus exploration opportunities (Pegex) project, which covers interests in the North, Norwegian and Barents Seas.

“We acquired holdings in a number of licences outside our core areas from the state’s direct financial interest,” explains Henrik Carlsen, executive vice president for Exploration & Production Norway.

“At the same time, we have a relatively large stake in certain licences.”

Selling or swapping some of these interests will achieve an adjustment to Statoil’s holdings which forms part of its overall commercial strategy, he explains.

“In addition to concentrating on existing core areas, we’ll also work to establish new ones. The Norwegian and Barents Seas appear most promising in that context.”

Statoil currently has holdings in 123 Norwegian offshore licences. A list of interests on offer can be found here.