Statoil and Repsol announce transactions in Norway, UK, US and Brazil

• Statoil farms down to Repsol a 15% interest in the Gudrun field on the Norwegian Continental Shelf. Statoil remains the operator and largest equity holder with a 36% interest.

• Pending Repsol partner approval, Statoil will acquire a 31% equity share in the UK licence for Alfa Sentral, a field which spans the UK-Norway maritime border. 

• Statoil acquires from Repsol a 13% interest in the Eagle Ford joint venture and becomes its sole operator.

• In agreement with its licence partners, Statoil will assume operatorship of the BM-C-33 licence in Brazil’s Campos basin, pending approval from authorities.  

“We are delighted to be deepening our relationship with Repsol. In the current challenging market environment, these are innovative, value-enhancing transactions which will help control costs and strengthen Statoil’s portfolio for the long term”, said John Knight, Statoil’s Executive Vice-President for Global Strategy & Business Development.

Strengthening a core NCS area

Once approved, the agreement on Alfa Sentral will increase Statoil’s holding in the UK licence for the field. It follows the transaction between Statoil and First Oil which was completed in November 2015. Statoil will become the largest equity holder in the Alfa Sentral field in both the UK and Norway licences, thus increasing its share of the resource base and its potential future profitability. The field is a priority project for Statoil and its development, as a tie back to the existing Sleipner infrastructure, will help to prolong and develop further the Sleipner area.

John Knight continued: “Statoil has ambitious goals for future activity, production and value creation on the Norwegian Continental Shelf and this deal supports our long term ambition. We are bringing a strong partner into Gudrun, an important NCS asset, and our increased interest in the Alfa Sentral development will strengthen our efforts to develop the important Sleipner area towards 2030”.

Expanding international operatorships

In the US, Statoil will now become sole operator of the Eagle Ford joint venture. This will allow for more optimal field development, efficient operations and cost savings, and thus more resilience to low oil prices.

In Brazil the operatorship of BM-C-33, once formally approved by the Brazilian authorities, will allow Statoil to use its deep-water and gas experience to develop the BM-C-33 discoveries.

“The US and Brazil are focus areas for Statoil’s international strategy. As the sole operator in the Eagle Ford Joint Venture, we will deliver benefits for both partners. We are looking forward to becoming operator in BM-C-33 and applying our offshore and operating skills on this high impact discovery”, said John Knight.

The transactions for Gudrun and Eagle Ford are valued at the same amount and their effective dates are both 1 January 2015. They are expected to close before the end of 2015, pending government approvals. The transfer of operatorship of BM-C-33 will be concluded once approved by the Brazilian authorities.

Lambert Energy Advisory Ltd were sole advisers to Statoil on this process.

Overview of transaction

	Before trans-action	After trans-action	Operatorship
Norway: Gudrun Production Licence PL025, PL2025B and PL187	51%	36%	Statoil remains operator.
USA: Eagle Ford shale assets	50%	63%	Statoil remains operator of eastern assets. Operatorship of western assets transferred from Repsol to Statoil.
Norway/UK: Alfa Sentral UK Exploration Licence P312	24%	55%	JX Nippon is operator of P312. Statoil is operator of NCS licence PL046 with a 62% holding. Negotiations to unitise the field are ongoing.
Brazil: Pão de Açúcar Exploration Licence BM-C-33, comprising the Pão de Açúcar, Gavea and Seat discoveries	35%	35%	Transfer of operatorship from Repsol to Statoil.