Total Scales Back in Brunei
France’s Total has agreed to sell its 87% stake in the CA1 oil and gas block off the coast of Brunei to Shell for $300mn, it announced on October 30.
CA1 covers a 5,850-km2 area in waters 1,000-2,500 metres deep. Total secured rights to the block back in 2002, but exploration activities were held up for years by a maritime border dispute between Brunei and Malaysia, finally resolved in 2015.
In a statement, Total said the sale was part of its plan to divest $5bn in non-core assets over 2019 and 2020. The French major also has a 37.5% share of Brunei’s offshore block B4, containing the Maharaja Lela Jamalulalam (MLJ) gas and condensate field.
MLJ’s gas goes to the Shell-led Brunei LNG export plant. Shell is the biggest producer in Brunei, extracting around 350,000 barrels of oil equivalent/day of oil and gas.
Other investors at CA1 include US-based Murphy Oil, with an 8% interest, and Malaysia’s Petronas with 5%.