Norwegian oil and gas company Equinor (EQNR.OL) has completed the sale of its assets in Nigeria and Azerbaijan for up to $2 billion, marking the end of its 30-year operations in both countries.
The company announced the completion of the divestments on Monday, a move first disclosed in 2023, according to Reuters.
Finalized in recent weeks, the divestments are expected to boost Equinor’s cash flow in Q4. They align with the company’s strategy to optimize its international portfolio.
“The exits allow further investment in countries where Equinor can add the most value and build a more focused, robust international portfolio,” the company stated, without providing further details.
Equinor plans to increase its international output by 100,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day (boed) by 2030, focusing on new fields in Brazil, the UK, and the US.
In Nigeria, Equinor sold a 20.21% stake in the Agbami oil field, operated by Chevron (CVX.N), to Chappal Energies for up to $1.2 billion, with $710 million in cash and the remainder in contingent payments. The company did not specify how market conditions might affect those contingent payments.
In Azerbaijan, Equinor sold its 7.27% stake in the Azeri Chirag Gunashli (ACG) field, an 8.71% stake in the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan (BTC) pipeline, and a 50% stake in the Karabagh project to Azerbaijan’s SOCAR and India’s ONGC for $745 million.
Equinor’s net production in the first three quarters of 2024 was 24,600 boed in Azerbaijan and 17,700 boed in Nigeria.
