Equinor Sells Nigerian, Azerbaijan Assets for $2Billion

Equinor’s 30-year operations in Nigeria and Azerbaijan have come to an end with the sale of its properties in both countries, which will fetch up to $2 billion.

The completion of the divestitures was announced by the Norwegian oil and gas corporation on Monday.

Equinor’s cash flow is anticipated to improve in the fourth quarter as a result of the divestitures, which were completed in recent weeks. They complement the business’s plan to maximise its global portfolio.

“The exits enable investments to deepen further in countries where Equinor can add the most value and build a more focused and robust international portfolio,” the company stated, though it did not provide further details.

By 2030, Equinor wants to boost its global production by 100,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day (boed), particularly emphasising new fields in the US, UK, and Brazil.

For up to $1.2 billion, Equinor sold Chappal Energies a 20.21% ownership in the Agbami oil field in Nigeria, which is run by Chevron (CVX.N).

The sale included $710 million in cash and the remaining amount in contingent payments.

The corporation did not clarify how market pricing or other variables might affect those contingent payments.

The company paid $745 million to Azerbaijan’s SOCAR and India’s ONGC for its 7.27% investment in the Azeri Chirag Gunashli (ACG) field, 8.71% stake in the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan (BTC) oil pipeline, and 50% stake in the Karabagh project in Azerbaijan.

In the first three quarters of 2024, Equinor’s net output was 17,700 boed in Nigeria and 24,600 boed in Azerbaijan.

Equinor’s cash flow is anticipated to improve in the fourth quarter as a result of the divestitures, which were completed in recent weeks.

They complement the business’s plan to maximise its global portfolio.

Manomsi Mallum/ Sahara Reporters