Noble Energy, Inc. has entered into a definitive agreement with Maersk Oil North Sea Limited for the sale of certain assets located in the North Sea of the UK. The sale includes the Company’s thirty percent non-operated working interest in the Dumbarton and Lochranza properties, which produced approximately 4,400 barrels of oil equivalent (boe) per day, net to Noble Energy, in the first quarter of 2012. At the end of 2011, net proved reserves at Dumbarton and Lochranza were 5.6 million boe.
Noble Energy will receive $127 million, subject to customary adjustments for net cash flows between the effective date of January 1, 2012 and the closing date, which is expected to occur by the end of the third quarter of 2012. Separate from this transaction, the Company is considering the sale of its other North Sea assets and will continue ongoing efforts to divest its non-core US onshore properties.
David L. Stover, Noble Energy’s President and Chief Operating Officer, commented, “The sale of these non-strategic properties allows us to focus our resources on our five core business units and also strengthens our balance sheet.”
