Statoil Swaps Field Interest - Analyst Blog

Statoil ASA (STO) and Marathon Petroleum have entered into a swapping of licence share agreement for better development and operation of the North Sea Gudrun field. Recently, Statoil got the licence from the Norwegian government with a 46.8% interest. Marathon’s interest was 28.2% and another partner ,GdF Suez, had a 25% interest.
 
Following the swap agreement, Statoil will get another 8.2% interest in the Gudrun field, bringing its total share to 55%. Marathon’s interest reduced to 20% while GdF Suez’s interest remained the same. On the other hand, Marathon will get 10% of the Brynhild prospect (PL 187) and 12.5% of the 15/5-2 find (PL 048) west of Sleipner field.
 
The Gudrun development plan, estimated at $3.6 billion, comprises the drilling of seven production wells and the process of onward transmission to Europe via the Gassled system. Production from the field is anticipated to come online in the first quarter of 2014.
 
The Gudrun field is one of Statoil's four biggest field developments on the Norwegian continental shelf (NCS). Though the company has operations in all major hydrocarbon-producing regions of the world, it has a significant upstream focus on the NCS.
 
The company’s NCS production is gaining momentum, which is evident from active licencing activity and its hiring of new rigs for this region. In April, the company signed a five-year contract for $650 million with Seadrill Management for a newly built jack-up for the development of the NCS. We believe that Statoil is well positioned to sustain a steady production growth for the next few years.