Exxon Weighs Sale of Some African Assets -- WSJ
2020年1月13日 - 05:02PM
Dow Jones News
This article is being republished as part of our daily
reproduction of WSJ.com articles that also appeared in the U.S.
print edition of The Wall Street Journal (January 13, 2020).
By Benoit Faucon
ABU DHABI -- Exxon Mobil Corp. is in talks to sell its oil
assets in Equatorial Guinea, the country's oil minister said, and
might be replaced there by a Russian company -- among other options
-- as U.S. companies retreat to shale projects and Moscow
strengthens its foothold in African resources.
Speaking to reporters on the sidelines of an energy event
Sunday, Gabriel Obiang Lima said he was in talks with Exxon about a
sale of its assets in Equatorial Guinea, including its operating
stake in the Zafiro field. At 90,000 barrels a day, the field makes
up the bulk of Equatorial Guinea's output.
A spokesman for Exxon said the U.S. oil company is "providing
information to third parties that may have an interest in these
assets, but no agreements have been reached and no buyer has been
identified." The spokesman added that a potential transaction
wouldn't affect the company's exploration activities in Equatorial
Guinea.
Exxon is considering selling the stake as part of its plan to
shed $25 billion of assets world-wide as it turns its focus to
larger projects.
Many of these investments are in U.S. shale, which has led to an
unprecedented production boom in the U.S. and a reduction in
exposure in Africa and other riskier places. Exxon and Chevron
Corp. are also selling stakes in fields in Nigeria, historically
Africa's biggest producer. In recent years, Marathon Oil Corp. and
Occidental Petroleum Corp. have also sold their stakes in
Libya.
African countries are often seen by U.S. energy companies as
offering difficult investment conditions.
But in the case of Equatorial Guinea, "fiscal terms [are] not
the issue, " Mr. Obiang Lima said. He said U.S. companies "just
want quicker returns" in the Permian Basin, an area of Texas and
New Mexico that accounts for 20% of U.S. crude-oil production and
is a cradle of the shale boom.
As U.S. companies reduce their exposure in Africa, Moscow is
increasingly stepping in to extract resources as part of a broader
push for political and economic influence on the continent.
"We are talking to companies from Russia, the U.K. and
Equatorial Guinea itself" to replace Exxon by June, Mr. Obiang Lima
said.
In Libya, state-run Russian companies Gazprom, Rosneft and
Tatneft have been trying to expand their foothold.
Separately, Equatorial Guinea said it would add 20,000 barrels a
day of oil production by October to its current output of 120,000
barrels a day. While the addition is small, the Organization of the
Petroleum Exporting Countries -- to which Equatorial Guinea belongs
-- has been trying to rein in production by its members.
Mr. Obiang Lima also said he favored an oil-price range of $60
to $70 a barrel, a view widely held among other producers. "At $70,
it is creating a problem for consumers," he said. "If the price is
lower than $60, we will have to take new measures."
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
January 13, 2020 02:47 ET (07:47 GMT)
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