The Danish Energy Agency has issued its approval of A.P. Møller – Mærsk A/S’ (A.P. Moller – Maersk’) US$ 7.45 billion sale of Mærsk Olie & Gas A/S (Maersk Oil) to global oil major Total S.A. (Total).
Maersk, which has undertaken a restructuring of its divisions by selling off its energy units, will now continue to concentrate on investing in its containerized logistics in order to become a bigger player in the end-to-end supply chain.
As part of the Maersk Oil agreement, Total will take over the organisation, portfolio, obligations and rights with minimal pre-conditions.
The Danish Energy Agency's approval of the transfer contains conditions, including that A.P. Moller -Maersk, as seller, assumes a secondary liability for the decommissioning of existing Danish offshore facilities corresponding to Maersk Oil’s 31.2% interest in the Danish Underground Consortium, should Total be unable to cover such costs.
Maersk stated that the information in its announcement would not change the previous financial guidance for the financial year 2018.
Maersk Oil announced the agreement to sell to Total on August 21, 2017, subject to regulatory approval from relevant authorities.
Maersk said it expected the transaction to take place during first quarter 2018.
