ExxonMobil farewells Norway with US$4.5bn Vår Energi deal

ExxonMobil is selling its Norwegian business to Eni/HitecVision-owned Vår Energi for US$4.5 billion, Norway’s biggest deal since the Statoil-Norsk Hydro merger in 2006.

Neivan Boroujerdi, principal analyst, North Sea, at Wood Mackenzie, said: “We think ExxonMobil has achieved an attractive exit price.

"It reaffirms that Norway is still one of the most competitive M&A markets in the world.

“It also reflects the attractiveness of the high cash-generative portfolio. The acquisition is transformational for Vår Energi. Production for 2019 will increase by nearly 100% to just over 300,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day, making the company Norway’s second largest producer.”

He added: “ExxonMobil’s exit brings an end to one of the industry’s longest running stories - the supermajor was awarded the first licence ever awarded on the Norwegian Continental Shelf.”

Norway was a core legacy play for ExxonMobil, but as the company entered a period of portfolio rationalisation, its Norwegian assets were put up for sale, Boroujerdi said.

“ExxonMobil’s asset sales programme has been slow to get moving, but this will help get the campaign into full swing. The attractive exit price will have been too good an opportunity to pass by.”