Total Sells 10% Shah Deniz Stake to Turkey's TPAO for $1.5 bln

French integrated oil and gas company Total said on Friday it has signed an agreement to sell its 10% interest in the Shah Deniz field and the South Caucasus Pipeline to Turkish state-owned exploration and production company TPAO.

The transaction is valued at $1.5 billion (1.1 billion euro) and is subject to customary approvals, Total said in a statement.

"The sale of our interest in Shah Deniz is in line with Total’s active portfolio management and the focus of its investment capability on more strategic assets,” Michael Borrell, senior vice-president continental Europe and Central Asia at Total’s exploration and production, said.

The offshore Shah Deniz field is located approximately 100 kilometres southeast of Baku in the Caspian Sea and covers approximately 860 square kilometres, with water depths ranging from 50 to 550 metres.

The first phase of the field started up in 2006 and is currently producing 200,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day. A second development phase was sanctioned at the end of 2013.

The Shah Deniz field is operated by BP with partners SOCAR, Statoil, Lukoil, Nico and TPAO.

Source: SeeNews