Statoil sells $3.25 bn gas pipeline stake

Norwegian energy giant Statoil agreed to sell a 24.1% stake in a key European natural gas transport venture to a group including German insurer Allianz and the Abu Dhabi Investment Authority for 17.35 billion crowns (USD 3.25 billion).

Statoil will retain a 5% stake in Gassled, the owner of the gas transport system and processing facilities on the Norwegian shelf which last year piped about 100 billion cubic metres of gas to Britain, Germany, Belgium and France.

The deal comes a year after ExxonMobil sold its 8% stake in Gassled to an infrastructure fund as oil firms shed non-core assets and allow financial investors to tap into the steady margins of the European energy infrastructure business.

The buyer of the stake is Solveig Gas Norway AS, a holding 45% owned by Canada Pension Plan Investment Board and 30% by Allianz Capital Partners, a subsidiary of Allianz SE.

The remaining 25%  is held by Infinity Investments SA, a subsidiary of the Abu Dhabi Investment Authority. The deal still needs approval from Norwegian authorities.

"This transaction contributes to a further streamlining of Statoil's portfolio," Eldar Saetre, Statoil's executive vice president, said in a statement.

"We believe we can use our competence elsewhere with a higher return on our investment," Statoil spokesman Baard Glad Pedersen said, adding that the company's after-tax profit from the deal amounted to 9 billion crowns.

By retaining a stake in Gassled, Statoil will remain "part of the decision-making process", Pedersen said.

The deal comes two years after Exxon, as well as other foreign minority Gassled owners including Total, Shell, ConocoPhillips and Eni, accused the Norwegian government of giving too much sway over Gassled to companies it has influence over.

Until this deal is finalised, more than 70% of Gassled remains in the hands of state-owned Petoro and 67% state-owned Statoil, which the foreign companies said made it tough for them to have influence over strategic decisions on pipelines and access to new fields.

Norway's gas transport system is operated by Gassco. It consists of 7,975 km of pipelines and two major gas processing plants on the Norwegain coast - Kaarstoe and Kollsnes.

Last year Gassco, fully owned by Gassled, earned 27.24 billion crowns (USD 4.93 billion) in gross tariffs. It spent a total of 10 billion on its operations, investments and other "major projects", according to its website.