Exxon Selling Stake in Terra Nova Oil Project

Exxon Mobil Corp is selling its entire stake in the Terra Nova oil project off the eastern coast of Canada, though the world's largest publicly traded oil producer said it was committed to remaining an investor in the region.

The project, located about 217 miles (350 km) off Newfoundland and Labrador, produced about 5,000 barrels of oil per day in 2016.

Exxon is selling all of its 19 percent stake in the project and initial bids are due March 30, according to data and a document from Schlumberger's oil and gas asset sale business.

Exxon confirmed the sale process, though said it does not involve other assets in the area. "We continuously review our asset portfolio to ensure it meets our strategic objectives," Exxon spokeswoman Suann Guthrie said in a statement.

The Terra Nova project consists of a floating production, storage and offloading vessel to produce oil.

The project has pumped 400 million barrels of oil and consists of 30 wells that pumped about 31,000 barrels per day last year, the document said.

PetroCanada, Husky Oil Ltd and Murphy Oil Corp are other partners in the project.

Shares of Exxon were barely changed in early afternoon trading on the New York Stock Exchange at $78.88.


(Reporting by Ernest Scheyder; Editing by Tom Brown)