Holdings in three licences in the Oseberg area of the Norwegian North Sea have recently been swapped between Statoil and the state’s direct financial interest (SDFI) in petroleum operations.
“These are pure exchanges which do not involve any cash payments,” says Bjørn Laastad, head of portfolio development for Statoil’s Troll/Sleipner business cluster.
The three licences involved, all operated by Norsk Hydro, are the Oseberg Unit, Oseberg East and Oseberg South.
Statoil previously had 14 per cent in the first two of these, and 18.22 per cent in Oseberg South. After the swap, it holds 15.3 per cent in all three.
According to Mr Laastad, the transaction was suggested by the Ministry of Petroleum and Energy.
It accords with Statoil’s aim of simplifying decision-making processes and coordination of these fields, which all form part of its Troll/Sleipner business cluster.