Sale of Statoil's Offshore Holdings Approved

Authorities have approved the sale of all Statoil offshore holdings on the Norwegian continental shelf embraced by the Pandora sales project.

This means that the purchasing companies have been approved as partners in the relevant licenses and as players on the Norwegian continental shelf. They have now formally taken over responsibility for their shares, and Statoil has withdrawn from the licenses.

The sale covers shares in six fields. Statoil has sold all of its holdings in the Tommeliten, Grane, Jotun and Freja fields in the North Sea, as well as the Njord field in the Norwegian Sea. The group has sold 12 percent of its stake in the Snohvit field in the Barents Sea. As operator for the field, Statoil now has a share of 22.29 percent.

Gaz de France has entered the Norwegian continental shelf for the first time through the Pandora project. The company is licensee in Snohvit and Njord.

The other transactions were with Conoco, which has bought holdings in Grane, and Phillips, which has taken over operatorship and holdings in Tommeliten. DNO has bought shares in Jotun, and DONG has taken over holdings in the Freja field.