Oil major Total is planning to sell its 18-percent stake in an oilfield in Northern Iraq’s Kurdistan region. The development could raise around $500 million. The oilfield is located in the Sarsang exploration block.
The development comes at a time after Total acquired Maersk Oil. Furthermore, the company is working with investment banking company Jefferies to carry out the development. The exploration in Kurdistan is operated by HKN Energy.
The oil major is looking to sell assets due to the pandemic and slump in global oil demand, while it gears up to turn carbon neutral in the future.
It is reported that the stake sell talks are underway and a final decision has to be made. The oil major will look to focus on becoming carbon neutral by selling its non-core assets and establish itself as a broad energy company.
The oil major aims to boost its energy production by one third, with half coming from cleantech sources such as LNG.
In September, Total’s chief executive Patrick Pouyanne, told the media, “The firm aims to be among the world’s top five producers of renewable energy. The company’s operations mix today is 55 percent oil, 40 percent gas, and less than 5 percent electricity from renewables. Noting that in 2050, Total’s operations will be divided into 20 percent oil, 40 percent gas, and 40 percent renewable energy.
The global oil market is still scrambling for a rebound. However, the oil refiners expect a rebound in 2021.