StatoilHydro:Agreed To Cut Output Share At 2 Libyan Oil Fields
May 22 2009 - 11:53AM
Dow Jones News
StatoilHydro ASA (STL.OS) Friday said its production shares in
the Mabruk and Marsuk fields in Libya have been reduced, as the
government there claws back assets from international
companies.
The renegotiations with the government over its production
entitlements from the two fields have been ongoing for many months,
StatoilHydro spokeswoman Mari Dotterud told Dow Jones
Newswires.
"Our 2008 entitlement production from Marsuk has been reduced
from 4% to 2.3% and for Mabruk from 11% to 5%," she said. Dotterud
added that StatoilHydro expected the renegotiations and noted "we
still have long-term investments in Libya and have a strong
interest there."
"Nearly all the fields in Libya have been looked upon by the
government to see if they can make some changes to increase the
value for the Libyan government," she said.
Under the renegotiated contracts, the company's 2008 Marsuk
output was cut to 3,000 barrels a day from 4,000 barrels a day,
while its Mabruk production share dipped to 1,000 barrels a day
from 2,300 barrels a day, Dotterud said.
She said the two fields fall within two different licenses in
Libya. The renegotiation over Masuk finished in 2008, while the
deal over Mabruk has only just wrapped up, she said.
StatoilHydro's comments come as Libya's National Oil Company
said in a statement on its Web site that oil major Total SA (TOT)
and its partners Wintershall AG and StatoilHydro had all agreed to
cut their stake in some Libyan assets to give the national oil
company a bigger share.
The move is the latest by an oil rich nation to grab back assets
from large oil companies, after Venezuela, Bolivia and Russia, in
recent months.
StatoilHydro operates three exploration licenses in Libya
covering 23,000 square kilometers. They are areas 94, 146 and 171.
It also has a 20% interest in area 186 which is operated by Spain's
Repsol.
Company Web site: www.statoilhydro.com
-By Elizabeth Adams, Dow Jones Newswires; +44 (0) 207 842 9386;
elizabeth.adams@dowjones.com
(Adam Mitchell in Paris contributed to this report.)