Statoil and Wintershall sign major strategic gas supply agreement
STAVANGER, NORWAY, Nov 20, 2012 (Menafn - MARKETWIRE via COMTEX) --Statoil ASA (ose:STL)STO: Statoil and Wintershall haveentered into a 10-year gas sales agreement for the delivery of atotal of 45 billion cubic meters (bcm) to the German and otherNorth-West European markets.
"This strategic agreement demonstrates the continued competitivenessof Norwegian natural gas in the German energy mix. Natural gasabundance and established infrastructure provides long term securityof supply, and as theleast CO2 intensive fossil fuel it cancontribute to further reduction of GermanCO2 emissions," saysStatoil's President and CEO Helge Lund, adding that: "Wesee thisagreement as a confirmation of how important natural gas will beinshaping the long term German energy system."
"The agreement with Statoil, a long-term and reliable energy partnerwith Germany for decades, is a significant milestone for Wintershall.For us thismeans that we can also use the volumes we produce fromthe North Sea in Europein the future without having to expand ourown infrastructure," says Wintershall's CEO Rainer Seele.
Germany consumes about 80 bcm natural gas per year and is the secondlargest gas market in Europe. Up to 5 bcm per year is a substantialvolume, representingmore than 6 per cent of the total German gasconsumption. The volume correspondsto the annual gas usage of morethan 2 million German homes, or the gas neededto fuel eight to nine400 MW gas power plants.
The gas is priced at competitive terms related to German and NWEuropean hubs.The gas will be delivered through existing pipelineinfrastructure from the Norwegian Continental Shelf, with the bulk ofthe deliveries going to Germany
About Statoil's gas position in Germany
Statoil is the second largest supplier of gas to Europe and has longstandingties towards the Germany gas market. Statoil's gas reachesthe German marketthrough the Europipe I and II and Norpipe pipelinesthat landfall at Dornum andEmden in Northern Germany. The company'sGerman gas portfolio comprises longterm gas sales contracts withmajor energy utilities and direct sales to largeindustrial users.Further, Statoil is trading at the Gaspool and NCG gashubs,owner/operator of the Etzel gas storage and part owner in theNETRA pipeline.
About Wintershall
Based in Kassel, Germany, Wintershall Holding GmbH is a wholly ownedsubsidiaryof BASF and has been active in the exploration andproduction of crude oil andnatural gas for over 80 years.Wintershall focuses on selected core regions,where the company hasbuilt up a high level of regional and technological expertise. Theseare Europe, North Africa, South America, as well as Russia andtheCaspian Sea region. In addition, these operations are complemented bythecompany's growing exploration activities in the Middle East.Today, the companyemploys more than 2,000 staff worldwide from 40nations and is Germany's largestinternationally active crude oil andnatural gas producer.
This information is subject of the disclosure requirements pursuantto section5-12 of the Norwegian Securities Trading Act.
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Source: Statoil via Thomson Reuters ONE
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For more information:
Investor relations:
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SOURCE: Statoil
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