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* Total seeks buyers for 20% stake in Block 14
* Sale could fetch around $300 million -sources
* Sale seen as early sign of expected round of divestments
By Ron Bousso
LONDON, Nov 4 (Reuters) - Total is seeking to sell
stakes in a number of Angolan oilfields, in what is seen as an
early sign of an expected wave of divestments by big energy
companies from the West African country, industry sources said.
Total could raise around $300 million from the sale of its
20% stake in Angola's offshore Block 14, which includes the
Tombua-Landana, Kuito fields as well as a cluster of fields that
make the BBLT project, the sources said.
Chevron-operated Block 14 produced around 40,000
barrels of oil equivalent per day in 2019.
Total declined to comment.
The sale of Total's stake in Block 14 is part of the
company's drive to focus on its larger and more profitable oil
and gas fields in Angola, where it remains the largest operator,
one of the sources said.
Last December, Total and its partners extended their
production licence in Angola's giant Block 17.
Total and rivals including BP, Chevron and Exxon
Mobil aim to sell tens of billions worth of oil and gas
assets around the world in the coming years to reduce debt that
ballooned following the collapse in oil prices due to the
coronavirus crisis.
Those disposals are expected to include a number of stakes
in Angolan oilfields, where production is generally more complex
and expensive than other basins, the sources said.
For the European companies, the sales are also part of a
long-term strategy to shift away from fossil fuels to renewable
energy and power markets to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
Unlike most big oil companies, Total does not provide a
clear divestment target.
HSBC analysts, however, estimate that Total will sell around
200,000 bpd of production over the coming decade to meet its
target of keeping production unchanged until 2025.
(Reporting by Ron Bousso. Editing by Jane Merriman)
