Wintershall Dea GmbH, billionaire Mikhail Fridman’s energy venture with BASF SE, is in advanced talks to sell its minority stake in a Middle Eastern natural gas project to an arm of Thailand’s PTT Pcl, people familiar with the matter said.
(Bloomberg) — Wintershall Dea GmbH, billionaire Mikhail Fridman’s energy venture with BASF SE, is in advanced talks to sell its minority stake in a Middle Eastern natural gas project to an arm of Thailand’s PTT Pcl, people familiar with the matter said.
Wintershall has been working with an adviser to identify buyers for its 10% stake in the Ghasha offshore gas concession in the United Arab Emirates, said the people, who asked not to be identified as the information is private. The German firm and PTT Exploration & Production Pcl are ironing out details of a potential deal, the people said.
Abu Dhabi National Oil Co. in 2018 awarded a 10% stake in a 40-year concession of the Ghasha project to Wintershall. Eni SpA and Lukoil PJSC also hold stakes in the project, which is set to start producing by the end of the decade, with the nearby Hail field that’s part of the same concession starting in 2025.
The Ghasha project is one of the world’s largest offshore sour gas development and could play a vital role in meeting the UAE’s goal of gas self-sufficiency. It is expected to produce more than 1.5 billion cubic feet per day when complete. Adnoc also expects the project will produce more than 120,000 barrels a day of oil and condensate.
The value of the potential transaction with PTTEP couldn’t be immediately learned. Deliberations are ongoing and there’s no certainty an agreement will be reached, the people said. Representatives for Wintershall and Adnoc declined to comment. A spokesperson for PTTEP didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.
Earlier this month, Adnoc awarded contracts worth almost $17 billion to companies including Saipem SpA and Maire Tecnimont SpA to develop the field along with a project to capture carbon dioxide emissions. The project will capture 1.5 million tons of carbon dioxide per year, preventing the harmful gas from reaching the atmosphere.
Founded in 1985, PTT Exploration & Production has more than 50 projects in Southeast Asia, the Middle East, Africa and the Americas, according to its website. Its shares have fallen about 5% this year in Bangkok, giving the company a market value of about $18 billion.
–With assistance from Laura Hurst and Rakteem Katakey.
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