Exxon Wants to Sell Stake in ACG

London / 12/05/18 / Turan: The American oil and gas giant Exxon Mobil wants to sell its stake in the project to develop the largest block of Azerbaijani oil fields, as it is reorienting its global operations, bank sources said.

According to the sources, Exxon expects to raise up to $ 2 billion from the sale of its 6.8% share in the Azeri-Chirag-Guneshli field development project (ACG) in the Caspian Sea.

Exxon Mobil spokeswoman Julie King said the company does not comment on "market rumors and speculation." A representative of the State Oil Company of Azerbaijan, SOCAR, said it would not comment on the message, as it concerns Exxon.

Despite the fact that the operator of the block is the British oil giant BP, the project received significant support from the US government. Initially, five American companies participated in the development: Exxon, Amoco, Unocal, Pennzoil and McDermott.

BP said it did not have information about Exxon plans.

After the hopes for the discovery of new large fields did not materialize, the majority of American companies left the project, and the support of the US government also decreased.

In the event of Exxon leaving, Chevron would remain the only American company in the project with a share of 9.57%. However, the corporation on Tuesday announced that it had decided to launch the process of selling its shares in ACG.

BP and SOCAR own 30.4% and 25% of the share respectively.

Other consortium members include Japanese Inpex with a 9.3 percent share and Norwegian Equinor with a 7.3 percent share. Turkish TPAO, Japanese Itochu and Indian ONGC Videsh own smaller shares.

The Azeri-Chirag-Gunashli oil fields are the largest in the Azerbaijani sector of the Caspian Sea, providing the lion"s share of the country's oil revenues. -02D-