BASF To Buy Oil, Gas Assets From Statoil For $1.25 Bln

(RTTNews) - German chemical giant BASF SE (BFA.L, BASFY.PK) Friday said its subsidiary Wintershall has agreed to buy oil and gas assets from Norwegian energy firm Statoil ASA (STO) for $ 1.25 billion. The transaction would be financially effective retroactively to January 1, 2014.

A further payment of up to $50 million would be made, provided the Aasta Hansteen field development is executed according to the current project plan. The transaction is expected to close by the end of 2014.

"With the acquisition of these shares in oil and gas fields, we are continuing on our growth course in Norway and intensifying the cooperation with our partner Statoil," said Kurt Bock, chairman of the board of executive directors of BASF.

Wintershall is expanding its oil and gas production and reserves in the North Sea by acquiring share in two production fields, two development projects, the Polarled pipeline project and a share in four exploration licenses.

Wintershall will acquire 5 percent shares in producing field Gjøa, and 24.5 percent in Vega. It will buy 24 percent in the development project Aasta Hansteen, and 19 percent shares in the Asterix discovery.

It has agreed to buy 13.2 percent in the Polarled pipeline project, as well as equity in four exploration licenses in the vicinity of Aasta Hansteen.

The shares in the assets include reserves and resources of around 170 million barrels of oil equivalent or boe.

Further, the companies agreed that Wintershall would become operator of the producing field Vega, subject to approval of the authorities and consent of other license partners.

Wintershall and Statoil additionally agreed that the companies will work together on the exploitation of the exploration potential in the Vøring Basin. Wintershall's daily production in Norway will increase 50 percent to about 60,000 barrels of oil equivalent from current 40,000 boe.

Rainer Seele, chairman of the board of executive directors of Wintershall stated, "We want to become one of the leading oil and gas companies in Norway. With domestic production in Europe we are strengthening the European supply security."

Wintershall has already took over operatorship of producing field Brage in the northern North Sea in fall 2013, becoming the first company to take over a producing platform from Statoil in Norway.

Separately, Statoil said it expects accounting gain from the transaction to be between $0.7 billion to $0.9 billion and will be adjusted for activity between the effective date January 1, 2014 and the closing date. The company also said the transaction releases around $1.8 billion of capital expenditure for the period from the effective date until end of 2020.

In July end, BASF reported higher profit in the second quarter, reflecting strong performance in chemicals and the Oil & Gas segments, despite negative currency impacts.

On Frankfurt's Xetra, BASF shares are currently trading at 77.25 euros, up 0.10 percent.

Statoil shares closed Thursday's trading at $27.59, down 1.36 percent on the NYSE.