Total Sells Remaining Gina Krog Stake to Kufpec

Total has agreed to sell its remaining stake in the Gina Krog oil and gas field to Kuwaiti state-owned Kufpec (Kuwait Foreign Petroleum Exploration Company) in its first non-core asset divestment offshore Norway since it agreed to buy Maersk Oil last month.

The French major completed the sale of a 15% stake to Kufpec in January 2017 for $300mn; now it has agreed to sell its remaining 15% interest too, for which Kufpec said it is paying $317mn.

Total upstream president Arnaud Breuillac said, despite having ceded its interest in the field, that Norway “remains a key country for Total” adding, “With the recent [$7.45bn] acquisition of Maersk Oil & Gas, announced on August 21, the group’s position in the North Sea will be significantly strengthened, in particular in Norway, with the participation in the development of the giant Johann Sverdrup field.”

Upon completion of the sale, Kufpec will have a 30% stake alongside Statoil (operator 58.7%), Polish state-run PGNiG (8%) and Aker BP (3.3%) in Gina Krog, which started production in June 2017. Kufpec CEO Nawaf Saud Nasir Al-Sabah said: “Kufpec continues to execute its strategy to grow in profitable projects in Norway, and this transaction builds on our 2016 acquisition of Greater Sleipner Area assets from Total, which included a 15% interest in Gina Krog.”

Total’s net equity production in Norway in 2016 was 235,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day. At closing, Kufpec will add some 34mn boe of net reserves and approximately 9,000 boe/d of production from Gina Krog, taking Kufpec’s production in Norway close to 25,000 boe/d.

Mark Smedley