Exxon has agreed to divest a stake of 50% in the Neptun Deep offshore gas field in Romania to state-owned firm Romgaz for $1.06bn.
Romgaz will acquire the rights and obligations under the concession agreement for the Neptun Deep Block.
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The Neptun Deep project is currently operated by ExxonMobil through its subsidiary, ExxonMobil Exploration and Production Romania.
The company’s other partner in the gas project is Austrian energy company OMV’s subsidiary OMV Petrom, which holds a 50% stake.
Following the completion of the transaction, Exxon plans to turn over the project operatorship to OMV Petrom.
The sale comes as Exxon looks to focus on key projects in the US Permian Basin, Guyana, and oil-refining and chemical projects, according to Bloomberg.
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By GlobalDataExxon CEO Darren Woods was cited by the publication as saying that the recent surge in commodity prices provides an improved opportunity for the firm to divest its assets.
Covering an area of nearly 7,500km², the block is located in water depths ranging from 100m to 1,700m.
Between 2008 and 2016, ExxonMobil and OMV Petrom spent $1.5bn for exploration and appraisal operations in the block.
In 2012, the partners confirmed the natural gas reservoir presence through the drilling of the Domino-1 exploration well.
However, the project’s technical and commercial viability is yet to be established.
In a separate announcement, ExxonMobil has teamed up with Indonesia’s state-owned energy company Pertamina to assess the potential for large-scale deployment of low-carbon technologies in Indonesia.
The technologies planned to be assessed include carbon capture, utilisation and storage, and low-carbon hydrogen.
The two firms will identify and evaluate potential locations for subsurface CO₂ storage, as well as examine the CO₂ transport feasibility in South East Asia.
