Norway's Equinor (EQNR.OL) said on Friday it has agreed to sell its assets in Azerbaijan to state-owned energy firm SOCAR, including interests in the ACG oilfield and the BTC pipeline for an undisclosed price.
Equinor declined to provide the price, but a spokesperson
said the company would record a loss from the transaction in the range of $300
million to $400 million as the book value exceeded the transaction's size.
BP-operated Azeri Chirag Gunashli (ACG) is the largest
oilfield in the Azerbaijan sector of the Caspian basin and the
Baku-Tbilisi-Ceychan (BTC) pipeline is used to transfer crude oil to the
Turkish Mediterranean coast.
"Equinor is in the process of re-shaping its
international oil and gas business, and the divestments in Azerbaijan are in
line with our strategy to focus our international portfolio,"
international operations chief Philippe Mathieu said.
The value of the deal would be revealed at a later time,
Equinor said.
"We are satisfied with the price, and it will be
visible in our books at the time of closing," the company spokesperson
added.
The Norwegian company held 7.27% and 8.7% stakes in ACG and BTC, respectively, as well as 50% in the Karabagh oilfield development, also in the Caspian basin, the company said in a statement.