Gazprom and OMV have reached an outline deal to swap a 38.5% stake in the latter company’s Norwegian unit for a 25% stake in a section of Gazprom’s Urengoy gas field.
OMV chief executive Rainer Seele is said be reversing the policy of his predecessor who had achieved output growth by buying assets in the North Sea.
Seele is aiming to generate cash by selling off non-core assets such as Turkey’s Petrol Ofisi.
The firm is also looking to replenish weakening reserves with access to oil and gas fields in low-cost countries such as Russia and the United Arab Emirates.
Dates for meetings with Norwegian authorities are expected to be fixed soon.