Global oil major Shell has reportedly hired a bank to review its Norwegian assets, which could possibly lead to Shell exiting the Scandinavian country.
According to the article by The Times, the company has assigned Rothschild bank to review the “$3bn Norwegian business.”
The Times wrote on Sunday that this could lead to Shell selling part, or even its whole business in Norway, to generate cash to „pay down debt” from its multi-billion dollar acquisition of rival BG.
Offshore Energy Today has reached out to Shell, seeking confirmation. A spokesperson for Shell said the company couldn’t comment on the report with regards to asset sales in Norway.
To remind, in October last year Shell completed a sale of some of its downstream assets in Norway. At the time, the company said Norway remained an important country for Shell, “which is committed to a long-term presence there.”
In the statement following the downstream sale last year, the company said that its other businesses in Norway – lubricants, Shell Energy Europe, Gasnor and upstream – “will continue to operate as before.”
According to Shell’s Annual Report 2015, the company was a partner in 30 production licenses on the Norwegian continental shelf, and the operator in 13 of those, of which two are producing: the Ormen Lange gas field (Shell interest 17.8%) and the Draugen oil field (Shell interest 44.6%). The other producing fields are Troll, Gjøa, Kvitebjørn, and Valemon.
Offshore Energy Today Staff