Total To Divest Certain UK Non-core Assets To Petrogas NEO UK For $635 Mln

(RTTNews) - French energy giant Total SA (TTA.L, TTFNF.PK, TOT) announced Wednesday that it has signed an agreement to divest several UK non-core assets to Petrogas NEO UK Ltd.

The overall consideration for the sale is $635 million with an effective date of January 1, 2019.

Petrogas NEO UK, the exploration and production unit of Omani conglomerate MB Holding, has partnered with Norway-based private equity investor HitecVision for the deal.

The transaction, which remains subject to approval from the relevant authorities, is expected to close in December 2019.

The divesting assets, which were formerly owned by Maersk Oil, are located in the Eastern North Sea. With the Maersk Oil acquisition in 2018, Total became the second largest operator in the North Sea.

Arnaud Breuillac, President Exploration & Production at Total, said, "This transaction is consistent with our portfolio management strategy, aiming at lowering our break-even point by optimizing capital allocation and divesting high technical costs assets. Our primary objective is to maintain the organic break-even before dividend below $30 per barrel and high-grading our portfolio will help us achieve this."