The French oil and gas giant Total has pulled out of a deal with US firm Occidental Petroleum for the purchase of assets owned by Anadarko Petroleum in the African country of Ghana, according to a press release on Monday
MOSCOW (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 18th May, 2020) The French oil and gas giant Total has pulled out of a deal with US firm Occidental Petroleum for the purchase of assets owned by Anadarko Petroleum in the African country of Ghana, according to a press release on Monday.
"This decision not to pursue the completion of the purchase of the Ghana assets consolidates the Group's efforts in the control of its net investments this year and provides financial flexibility to face the uncertainties and opportunities linked to the current environment," Patrick Pouyanne, the chairman and CEO of Total, said in a press release published on the company's website.
Total and Occidental Petroleum reached a binding agreement in May 2019 for the acquisition of Anadarko's assets in Africa in a deal worth $8.8 billion. According to the agreement, Total would receive Anadarko's assets in Algeria, Ghana, Mozambique, and South Africa.
On Monday, Total stated that Anadarko was no longer in a position to sell its Algerian assets, prompting the company to pull out of the deal for the Ghanaian resources.
The French firm also cited the challenging market conditions created by the ongoing COVID-19 outbreak that has hit oil companies particularly hard.
The sale of Anadarko's assets in Mozambique and South African has already been completed, the company said.
Total is one of the world's largest oil and gas producers and employs over 100,000 people in 130 different countries. On May 5, the company reported that its first quarter profits had fallen year-on-year by 35 percent due to the ongoing COVID-19 outbreak.
