LONDON â€" Statoil, the state-controlled Norwegian oil company, said on Monday that it would sell a package of North Sea assets to OMV, a smaller Austrian producer, for $2.65 billion.
Statoil is reducing its stake in two fields that it operates in Norwegian waters, Gudrun and Gullfaks, to 51 percent from 75 percent and 70 percent respectively.
The company is also selling its 30 percent stake in Rosebank, a big discovery in British waters being developed by a group led by Chevron, and a nearly 6 percent stake in Schiehallion, another British field now being redeveloped by BP.
“We regard this deal very positively†for Statoil, said Peter Hutton, an analyst at RBC Capital Markets in London.
Mr. Hutton noted that the transaction allows Statoil to raise money from the Norwegian fields without ceding operating control. More important, it saves $7 billion in capital costs on Schiehallion and Rosebank, a deepwater discovery west of the Shetland Islands that is likely to be one of Europe’s most expensive projects in the coming years.
Statoil is selling the equivalent of about 2 percent of its production in 2014, Mr. Hutton estimated. It will be able to use the money on more promising projects, like Johan Sverup, a Norwegian field.
Investors are becoming increasingly concerned about rising capital costs at the large oil companies. In their second-quarter results, Exxon Mobil, Royal Dutch Shell and Chevron all reported increases in capital expenditures while production and earnings fell.
The sales also show the influence of BP’s divestment program. Excluding its business in Russia, BP has raised about $38 billion since 2010 by selling about 400,000 barrels a day of production, according to RBC. Despite being under pressure after the Gulf of Mexico disaster, BP received substantially more than analysts expected from the sales.
Other oil companies have learned from BP’s experience that they can raise cash by pruning assets without losing their best properties. Shell, for instance, said on Aug. 1 that it would explore selling assets in North America as well as Nigeria, where its operations have been hit hard by sabotage.
The transaction will probably have a greater impact on OMV, a medium-size company that is trying to build up its output. OMV is adding about 13 percent to its production, now about 300,000 barrels a day, and around 17 percent to its reserves. OMV also gains options to participate in 11 exploration licenses.
“The transaction will provide a huge boost to OMV’s strategy,†the company’s chief executive, Gerhard Roiss, said in a statement.
