Wintershall to Sell Package of Norwegian Assets for US$ 602 million

Germany’s Wintershall is selling a package of assets on the Norwegian Continental Shelf for US$ 602 million. 

‘Wintershall, a 100% BASF subsidiary, is further optimizing its portfolio by divesting assets in the four non-operated fields Knarr (20%), Veslefrikk (4.5%), Ivar Aasen (6.4615%) and Yme (10%) on the Norwegian continental shelf to Tellus Petroleum AS, a recently acquired 100% subsidiary of Sequa Petroleum N.V’ reads a note released on Thursday.

As part of the package, Wintershall is also reducing its share in the own-operated Maria Development by 15% to 35%. The company will continue to be the operator of the discovery in Norway for which the PDO was recently submitted. 

‘The package Wintershall is selling to Tellus Petroleum also includes equity stakes in seven exploration licenses in the vicinity of the Knarr, Maria and Ivar Aasen fields and in the Barents Sea, as well as ownership interests in the Utsira High Gas Pipeline (3.8769%), the Edvard Grieg Oil Pipeline (2.5846%) and the Knarr Gas Pipeline (20%).’ 

The company still expects to increase oil and gas production to 190 million barres of oil equivalent by 2018.

“We continue our strategy to grow at the source. With this transaction we are selling shares in non-operated fields at a competitive price and reducing our investment obligations” ” Martin Bachmann, member of the Board of Executive Directors of Wintershall and responsible for exploration and production in Europe, commented.  

According to a separate note released by the Norwegian Petroleum Directorate (NPD), Wintershall Norge AS reported that the wildcat well 35/12-5 S is dry. 

‘The well was drilled about 15 km southwest of the Gjøa field in the North Sea and 80 kilometres southwest of Florø” NPD wrote.  

On Tuesday, Wintershall confirmed its intention to focus on Russia.