Statoil has signed an agreement to farm down in five exploration licences in the Faroe Islands and two in Norway to the Austrian oil and gas company OMV.

This agreement is a result of the larger OMV transaction, announced in August, where it was agreed to look for cooperation in exploration opportunities.

In the Faroe Islands Statoil has farmed down in licences L006, L008, L009, L011 and L016.

"This is part of Statoil's active portfolio management. We welcome OMV as a partner in these licences and look forward to working with them on exploring the oil and gas potential offshore the Faroe Islands. Statoil remains the largest licence holder in the Faroe Islands and we are preparing for drilling two wells in 2014," says Runi M. Hansen, country manager for the Faroe Islands and Greenland in Statoil.

In addition, Statoil is farming down 15% interest to OMV in PL359, which contains the Luno II discovery, and PL410 on the Norwegian continental shelf.

“The transaction is part of our high grading of the exploration portfolio on the NCS. Last year we farmed into PL338 containing the Edvard Grieg discovery with 15% based on the same overall approach. We will now have a balanced equity position in this area,” says Gro Haatvedt, senior vice president exploration Norway.

The parties have agreed not to disclose the commercial terms of the agreement.

The transactions are subject to authority approval.

About OMV Aktiengesellschaft

With Group sales of EUR 42.65 bn and a workforce of around 29,000 employees in 2012, OMV Aktiengesellschaft is Austria’s largest listed industrial company. In Exploration and Production, OMV is active in two core countries Romania and Austria and holds a balanced international portfolio with a production of around 303,000 boe/d in 2012. In Gas and Power, OMV sold approximately 437 TWh of gas in 2012. In Austria, OMV operates a 2,000 km long gas pipeline network with a marketed capacity of around 103 bcm in 2012. In Refining and Marketing, OMV has an annual refining capacity of 22 mn t and as of the end of 2012 approximately 4,400 filling stations in 13 countries including Turkey.

About OMV in Norway

OMV (Norge) AS is a 100% subsidiary of OMV Exploration & Production GmbH, founded in 2006 with its headquarters in Stavanger. OMV Norge partners the ongoing field development projects Aasta Hansteen, Zidane and Edvard Grieg as well as the infrastructure project Polarled and concentrates on exploration activities in the border areas in the northern part of the Norwegian Sea and in the Barents Sea. OMV (Norge) AS has built up a portfolio of 23 licenses: 11 in the Barents Sea, 11 in the Norwegian Sea and 1 in the North Sea. 9 licenses are operated by OMV.

About OMV in the UK

OMV (U.K.) Limited, a 100% subsidiary of OMV Aktiengesellschaft located in London, has been active in the United Kingdom for over 20 years. OMV UK holds a considerable portfolio of licenses in the British North Sea and in the area west of the Shetland Islands. The company has been an operator there since 2004. OMV UK will concentrate its business activities on the core area West of Shetlands.

About Statoil

Statoil (OSE:STL, NYSE:STO) is an international energy company with operations in 34 countries. Building on 40 years of experience from oil and gas production on the Norwegian continental shelf, we are committed to accommodating the world's energy needs in a responsible manner, applying technology and creating innovative business solutions. We are headquartered in Stavanger, Norway with approx. 23,000 employees worldwide, and are listed on the New York and Oslo stock exchanges.