Sydney - Chevron plans to sell its 50-percent stake in Caltex Australia Ltd to institutional investors as the second-biggest US energy producer accelerates asset sales.
Caltex, a refiner, has risen 74 percent in Sydney trading in the past 12 months, giving Chevron’s stake a market value of about A$5.1 billion ($4 billion).
Chevron expects the shares will be sold to a broad range of Australian and global equity market institutional investors, the San Ramon, California-based company said Friday in a statement.
Chevron is increasing asset sales by 50 percent to $15 billion and curtailing new investment for the next two years after plunging oil prices squeezed cash flow for the US oil and gas company.
“They are perhaps looking to increase their margins and get away from businesses that offer lower-end margins,” David Lennox, a resource analyst at Fat Prophets in Sydney, said by phone. “They are getting knocked around a bit because of the WTI price at the moment, so they’ll want to have cash on their balance sheet.”
Chevron’s divestment of oil and gas fields and other assets will continue through 2017, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer John Watson said during a presentation to analysts in New York earlier this month.
The move doesn’t alter Chevron’s focus on moving the Gorgon and Wheatstone liquefied natural gas projects in Australia toward start-up, the company said.
Bloomberg