Total SA, Europe’s second-biggest oil company, is considering a sale of its gas pipeline in the U.K. North Sea as it seeks to offload assets amid a drop in oil prices, three people with knowledge of the matter said.
The French company has reached out to several potential buyers for the Frigg network, which could fetch about $1 billion, two of the people said, asking not to be identified as the information is private. A sale may draw interest from pension funds seeking stable returns and energy-focused private- equity firms, they said.
Total Chief Executive Officer Patrick Pouyanne has said he will curb spending and quicken the pace of asset sales after the price of crude oil crashed to six-year lows. The company wants to raise $5 billion through disposals this year, and is targeting a total of $10 billion through 2017. The French company may decide to sell all of the Frigg pipeline or a majority stake in the asset, depending on buyer interest, the people said.
It is already exploring the sale of part of the Laggan-Tormore natural gas field, which lies west of the Shetland Islands, one of the people said. Total operates and has an 80 percent stake in the project, which is about a year behind its original production schedule. The company may also sell a 20 percent stake in Nigeria’s Usan field.
A representative for Total declined to comment. As crude prices hover around $45 per barrel, other oil companies have also been offloading pipeline assets in the North Sea. BG Group Plc agreed to sell its 63 percent interest in a gas pipeline for 562 million pounds ($834 million) to Antin Infrastructure Partners in June last year.
U.K. Chancellor of the Exchequer George Osborne used his final annual budget this week to cut taxes on North Sea oil, reducing a supplementary levy so producers will pay a total of 50 percent tax on profit, down from 60 percent.
The drop in oil prices has rendered as much as a third of U.K. fields uneconomic, BP Plc Chief Executive Officer Bob Dudley said in February. Taxes and production costs meant cash flows for operators were a negative 5.3 billion pounds last year, according to Malcolm Webb, head of the Oil &Gas U.K. lobby.
The Frigg U.K. System, which covers about 362 kilometers (225 miles), transports natural gas from fields across the North Sea to St. Fergus in Scotland. Completed in 1977, Frigg -- which shares its names with a Norse goddess renowned for her wisdom -- is 100 percent owned by Total’s E&P UK Ltd. unit.
Recommended Reading
Woodside Brings in the Know-how
2024-04-01 - Woodside Energy Group CEO Meg O’Neill is relying on technical sophistication to guide the Australian giant as it takes on three challenging projects in the U.S. Gulf of Mexico.
CERAWeek: JERA CEO Touts Importance of US LNG Supply
2024-03-22 - JERA Co. Global CEO Yukio Kani said during CERAWeek by S&P Global that it was important to have a portfolio of diversified LNG supply sources, especially from the U.S.
CERAWeek: Sens. Manchin, Sullivan Say LNG Pause Needs to be Paused
2024-03-20 - U.S. Sens. Joe Manchin and Daniel Sullivan argued against the recent LNG pause announced by U.S. President Joe Biden, saying it creates doubts among allies and creates an opening for competitors as well as U.S. rival Russia.
CERAWeek: Two Minutes with EQT’s Toby Rice on Energy Security
2024-03-22 - EQT Corp. President and CEO Toby Z. Rice spoke to Hart Energy on March 20 on the sidelines of CERAWeek by S&P Global to discuss natural gas infrastructure bottlenecks, energy security and the company’s advances on LNG.
Tinker Associates CEO on Why US Won’t Lead on Oil, Gas
2024-02-13 - The U.S. will not lead crude oil and natural gas production as the shale curve flattens, Tinker Energy Associates CEO Scott Tinker told Hart Energy on the sidelines of NAPE in Houston.