ExxonMobil Corp. signed an agreement to sell its non-operated upstream assets in Norway to Var Energi AS for $4.5 billion as part of its plans to divest $15 billion in nonstrategic assets by 2021 (OGJ Online, Sept. 6, 2019).
The transaction includes ownership interests in more than 20 producing fields operated mostly by Equinor, including Grane, Snorre, Ormen Lange, Statfjord, and Fram, with a combined production of 150,000 boe/d this year.
The transaction is expected to close in this year’s fourth quarter, subject to standard conditions including approvals from regulatory authorities. Many of the ExxonMobil employees impacted by the sale will transfer to positions at Var Energi, ExxonMobil said in a press statement.
In 2017 ExxonMobil sold its ownership interests in the ExxonMobil-operated fields Balder, Jotun Ringhorne, and Ringhorne East to Point Resources.
The ExxonMobil refinery in Slagen and network of 250 independently owned Esso-branded retail sites are unaffected by the sale.