Total to slash Kashagan oilfield stake

LONDON/MOSCOW: France’s Total is seeking to sell part of its stake in Kazakhstan’s giant Kashagan oilfield to raise up to $4 billion, Reuters quoted four banking sources, as saying.

Total holds a 16.8 percent stake in Kashagan, one of the world’s largest oilfields with production of about 400,000 barrels per day (bpd), and is seeking to sell around a third of its stake, according to the sources.

The company’s entire stake has an estimated value of up to $9 billion, the sources said.

The energy group has held talks with a Chinese national oil company about a stake sale in recent months but the sides were unable to agree on price, two sources said.

Total initially declined to comment but subsequently said it is not “currently” in talks with a Chinese company to sell a stake in Kashagan. “Total has no ongoing sale process for its Kashagan stake,” it added.

Kashagan, the world’s biggest oil find in decades and the most expensive standalone oil project, took an estimated $50 billion and 13 years to develop before starting in 2016. Total is not using any external bankers in the sale process, one of the sources said.