Equinor completes sale of ACG and BTC shares, marks $720 million deal

Equinor has completed the sale of its stakes in the ACG (Azeri-Chirag-Guneshli) and BTC (Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan) projects to SOCAR and ONGC Videsh Limited.

On November 29, 2024, Norwegian company Equinor finalized the sale of its stakes in the ACG field development project and the BTC oil pipeline to the State Oil Company of Azerbaijan (SOCAR) and India's ONGC Videsh Limited.

According to a statement from Equinor, the deal follows the updated purchase and sale agreement signed on July 19, 2024, Caliber.Az reports via local media.

Of Equinor's 7.27% stake in the ACG project, SOCAR acquired 6.655%, and ONGC Videsh Limited took 0.615%. For the BTC project, Equinor's 8.71% stake was divided, with SOCAR acquiring 7.96% and ONGC Videsh Limited acquiring 0.75%.

"The transaction under this sale and purchase agreement was closed on November 29, 2024, with a total value of $720 million," Equinor stated.

ONGC Videsh Limited confirmed that its share of the investment for acquiring part of Equinor’s stakes in ACG and BTC was approximately $60 million.

Earlier, on December 22, 2023, Equinor had entered into an agreement with SOCAR to sell its assets in Azerbaijan, including stakes in the ACG block, BTC pipeline, and a 50% stake in the Karabakh field development project. The sale of the Karabakh stake was finalized in April 2024.

The revised agreement in July 2024 with SOCAR and ONGC Videsh Limited finalized the sale of Equinor’s remaining stakes in the ACG and BTC projects.

The contract for the development of the Azeri, Chirag, and deepwater Guneshli fields was originally signed in 1994 and was set to expire in 2024. However, a new contract was signed in September 2017 extending the agreement until 2050.

Following this transaction, the ownership structure in the ACG project is as follows: BP plc holds 30.37%, SOCAR has 31.655%, MOL owns 9.57%, ExxonMobil holds 6.79%, ONGC Videsh has 2.925%, Inpex Corp. holds 9.31%, ITOCHU Oil owns 3.65%, and TPAO has 5.73%.

For the BTC pipeline, the shareholder breakdown is as follows: BP plc holds 30.1%, SOCAR has 32.96%, MOL owns 8.9%, TPAO has 6.53%, Eni and TotalEnergies each owns 5%, Itochu holds 3.4%, and ExxonMobil and Inpex each hold 2.5%. ONGC Videsh owns 3.11%.

By Tamilla Hasanova