French Total leaves Shah Deniz because of its unprofitability

French gas- oil company Total is in talks to sell its stake in a huge gasfield in Azerbaijan after it baulked at the enormous cost of the project, which would deliver Caspian gas directly to European markets for the first time, the British paper Financial Times writes.

According to the article, the French major is likely to sell its entire 10 per cent stake in the Shah Deniz field. The move comes just months after fellow investor Statoil of Norway reduced its stake from 25.5 per cent to 15.5 per cent.

The consortium of shareholders in the field, led by BP, in December announced a final decision to invest $28bn on the second phase of its development, one of the largest gas projects in the world, the Financial Times reports. They also announced plans to build pipelines to ship the gas 3,500 kilometers across Turkey, Greece and Albania into Italy, making the project a crucial plank of Europe’s strategy to diversify energy supplies.

Total’s decision was driven by the economics of the project, the people said, as well as a broader asset sale programme. Including the cost of building the pipelines, the total price tag for the project is likely to exceed $40bn.

The article notes that Total remains committed to its other large gas project in Azerbaijan, Absheron, in which it holds a 40 per cent stake. However, it sees as “non-core” its 10 per cent interest in the Trans Adriatic pipeline.

“Likely buyers for Total’s stake include Botas, the Turkish state pipeline company, which “has been very interested for a long time in getting involved in the upstream end of the project.” Socar, the Azeri national oil company, may also be interested in buying the stake. Statoil’s 10 per cent stake was sold to BP and Socar for $1.45bn,” the article reads.

Financial Times adds that Total and BP declined to comment; Socar did not respond to a request for comment; and Botas could not be reached.