Hess to sell Azerbaijan oil field assets to Indian firm

PanARMENIAN.Net - Hess Corp., an energy company, said it has agreed to sell its interest in Azerbaijan's Azeri, Chirag and Guneshli (ACG) oil fields and Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan (BTC) pipeline to India's ONGC Videsh Ltd. for $1 billion, iStockAnalyst reported.

Hess has a 2.72% interest in the ACG fields, which was operated by BP Plc, located in the Caspian Sea about 100 kilometers east of Baku. The fields have been producing since 1997. Hess has a 2.36% interest in the BTC pipeline associated with the fields.

"The sale of our interest in ACG is consistent with our strategy to divest mature and small working interest assets," said Greg Hill, President of Worldwide Exploration and Production for Hess.

Including this transaction, Hess has announced asset sales year-to-date totaling nearly $2 billion and additional asset sales are underway as part of its strategic portfolio reshaping. The transaction, which is expected to close in the first quarter of 2013, is subject to Indian and other government and regulatory approvals.

Hess is a independent energy company engaged in the exploration for and production of crude oil and natural gas, as well as in refining and in marketing refined petroleum products, natural gas and electricity. It operates in two segments: Exploration and Production (E&P) and Marketing and Refining (M&R).