The FINANCIAL — Unit Statoil has signed an agreement to acquire Hess’ 3.26% ownership in the Barents Sea Snøhvit Unit and adjacent production licences.
Statoil acquires Hess’ 11.25% participation interest in PL097 and 8.33% participation interest in PL110 together constituting a 3.26% participation interest in the Snøhvit Unit and in the Hammerfest LNG-facility located at Melkøya.
Additionally, a 3.26% participation interest in PL110B, PL110C, PL448 and PL488 is part of the agreement. The effective date of the transaction is 1. January 2011 and the consideration to be paid by Statoil is a post-tax amount of NOK 1.0 billion. The agreement is subject to relevant Government approvals. Statoil’s owner-share in Snøhvit will post transaction be 36.79%.Increasing the owner share in the Snøhvit Unit strengthens Statoil’s position in a core asset which is a focal point in the Barents gas value chain and in the company’s ambitions in the Barents region in general.
Snøhvit is currently the only facility in the area and will be crucial in enabling gas export solutions for other discoveries. he acquisition is in line with Statoil’s renewed strategy where active portfolio management is highlighted as a core measure to enhance value creation.
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