Oil and gas companies currently have assets for sale with recoverable reserves of more than 5 billion bbl of liquids and 7.5 billion boe of natural gas, Rystad Energy estimates. While some of these planned divestments were announced before the Covid-19-related oil price crash, more were added in reaction to the pandemic and its aftermath.

Rystad’s estimates look at divestment opportunities that exclude unconventional and US onshore assets, announced since 4Q19. The majority of resources on offer are in the producing phase, followed by volumes of undeveloped resources in the pre-FEED stage. In other words, companies are either getting rid of their mature portfolio to focus on key projects, or want to avoid additional greenfield costs in light of the current low crude price…