Baku, Azerbaijan, March 29
By Leman Zeynalova – Trend:
Shell EP Middle East Holdings B.V. has completed the sale of the entire share capital of Shell Iraq B.V (SIBV), which held its 19.6 percent stake in the West Qurna 1 oil field, for $406 million, to a subsidiary of ITOCHU Corporation, said a message on Shell’s website.
The purchaser has also assumed debt of $144 million as part of the transaction.
The West Qurna 1 venture will continue to be operated by ExxonMobil. Shell’s other businesses in the country are not affected by this divestment.Since joining the project in 2009, Shell has enjoyed successful cooperation with its partners in the West Qurna 1 venture, which will continue to be operated by ExxonMobil.
“Iraq is an important country for the Shell Group, and exiting West Qurna 1 allows us to focus our resources on other assets in our Iraq portfolio. We are grateful for the support of the Iraqi government during the divestment process,” said Shell’s Upstream Director, Andy Brown.
“Shell remains committed to working with its partners to redevelop Iraq’s energy infrastructure by capturing associated gas, through the Basrah Gas Company (BGC) Joint Venture, for domestic and regional consumption. This deal maintains the momentum behind Shell’s $30 billion divestment program and is in line with the drive to simplify our upstream portfolio and reshape the company into a world class investment.”