BP to buy Total's oil biz in Norway

It has agreed to buy a 15.7 per cent interest in Valhall and a 25 per cent interest in Hod, both located in the southern part of the Norwegian continental shelf, the companies said on Tuesday.

Total said the sale of these ‘non-strategic’ holdings was part of an ongoing optimisation of its ‘upstream assets,’ referring to its exploration and production business.For BP, this marks the latest in a string of acquisitions in recent months after it agreed to pay Devon Energy $7 billion for assets in Brazil, Azerbaijan and the Gulf of Mexico. Further, the London-based company also said last month it would pay $900 million for a 75 per cent stake in the oil sands assets of unlisted Canadian company Value Creation. Total has been present in Norway since the late 1960s and holds interests in 77 licenses there.