* Exxon recently held talks with a number of companies
* Exxon produced 170,000 bpd in Norway in 2017
* Investment bank Jefferies running process -sources
* Exxon shares up 1.7% in New York after news of the sale(Adds Var declining to comment in 6th graph)
By Ron Bousso and Shadia Nasralla
LONDON/ ABERDEEN, Scotland, Sept 5 (Reuters) - Exxon Mobilhas agreed to sell its Norwegian oil and gas assets forup to $4 billion, marking the U.S. firm's exit from productionin the country after more than a century, three sources familiarwith the matter said on Thursday.
Exxon said in June it was looking to sell its Norwegianupstream portfolio, which comprises minority stakes in more than20 fields, operated by local producer Equinor andAnglo-Dutch oil major Royal Dutch Shell.
An Exxon spokeswoman said: "As a matter of practice, wedon't comment on commercial discussions."
Shares in Exxon, the world's biggest publicly traded oilcompany, rose 1.7% to a session high in New York after Reutersreported a sale had been agreed.
The Irving, Texas-based company has held talks in recentweeks with a number of interested parties including Oslo-listedcompanies Equinor, Aker BP, and DNO,Stockholm-listed Lundin Petroleum as well as VarEnergi, backed by Italy's Eni, and private equity firmHitech Vision, industry sources said.
Equinor, Lundin and DNO were not immediately available tocomment. Var declined to comment.
The three sources said that Exxon had closed the saleprocess in recent days with one buyer after agreeing on theterms of a sale.
Exxon hired investment bank Jefferies to run the saleprocess, banking sources told Reuters last month.
Jefferies declined to comment.
In 2017, Exxon's net production from fields off Norway wasaround 170,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day, according toits website.
The sale, if approved by regulators and completed, comesafter Exxon focused in recent years on growing its onshore U.S.shale production, particularly in the Permian basin, as well asdeveloping huge oil discoveries in Guyana.
Exxon is also considering selling its assets in the BritishNorth Sea after more than 50 years, industry sources toldReuters last month.(Reporting by Ron Bousso and Shadia Nasralla, additionalreporting by Nerijus Adomaitis in Oslo, Gary McWilliams inHouston; Editing by Elaine Hardcastle and Susan Fenton)
