* Chevron's ACG stake valued at over $2 bln - sources
* Exxon continues to seek buyer for its stake in field
By Ron Bousso and Dmitry Zhdannikov
LONDON, Oct 9 (Reuters) - Hungarian energy firm MOL
is in talks to acquire Chevron's stake in a
giant oilfield in Azerbaijan for more than $2 billion, according
to three banking and industry sources involved in the process.
Both Chevron and its larger U.S. rival Exxon Mobil
are seeking to sell their stakes in the BP-operated
Azeri-Chirag-Gunashli (ACG) field in the Caspian Sea. This marks
the retreat of the U.S. majors from the central Asian state
after 25 years as they refocus on domestic production.
MOL was initially interested in both oil companies' stakes
in the field but decided to bid only for Chevron's 9.57%
holding, the sources told Reuters.
Chevron and MOL both declined to comment.
The discussions come as the Hungarian government of Prime
Minister Viktor Orban is seeking to develop closer relations
with central Asian countries.
Exxon continues to seek a buyer for its 6.8% stake in the
field. The sale process is being run by Bank of America Merrill
Lynch (BAML), according to the banking sources.
"Exxon Mobil is testing market interest for its non-operated
producing assets in Azerbaijan. We continually review our assets
for their contribution toward meeting the company's operating
needs, financial objectives and their potential value to
others," Exxon spokeswoman Julie King said.
BAML declined to comment.
In a presentation earlier this year, MOL said it was seeking
to maintain production of 110,000-130,000 barrels of oil
equivalent per day through to 2023 while adding 350 million
barrels of oil and gas reserves over the same period.
MOL's upstream oil and gas production is focused in Croatia
and Hungary, which account for 64% of total production. It also
has production in the North Sea, Iraq and Russia.
(Additional reporting by Krisztina Than in Budapest and Gary
McWilliams in Houston; Editing by Pravin Char)
BP (BP.)
