Hereweald blog

Exxon no comment on report of North Sea disposal plan

LONDON (Reuters) – Exxon Mobil Corp (XOM.N) confirmed it was considering the sale of its 100 petrol stations in Scotland but declined comment on a report it plans to sell its North Sea oil fields, worth some $2 billion.

Its comments came after the Sunday Times said the North Sea disposal was on the cards. An Exxon spokeswoman would not comment on the report but said the company intended to keep investing in the region.

"In terms of North Sea assets, Exxon Mobil is a long-term investor in the UK and plans to remain a major investor. We do not comment on speculation on commercial matters regarding our assets," a spokeswoman said.

Exxon and other oil companies including BP (BP.L) and Royal Dutch Shell (RDSa.L) have been selling assets in the area in recent years, to focus more on other locations such as Angola and the Gulf of Mexico.

In September Exxon and Shell said they planned to sell their interest in the Corvette field platform in the North Sea.

On the Scottish retail operations, the Exxon spokeswoman said the group was "testing a new business model" which would involve the group selling Esso-owned retail sites to wholesalers but keeping the Esso brand and continuing to supply fuel.

"Conversion to the branded wholesaler model would include the sale of Esso-owned retail sites to the wholesaler, along with an agreement for the wholesaler to supply the sites with Esso brand fuel," Exxon said in a statement.

"We are currently in the bidding process with a number of interested buyers," the company added.

In 2008 Exxon exited its retail gas business in the United States and in May this year it sold 295 of its service stations on Australia's east coast to convenience store chain 7-Eleven Australia Pty Ltd.

(Reporting by Golnar Motevalli; Editing by David Holmes)