UPDATE: StatoilHydro: Output Share At 2 Libyan Oil Fields Cut

StatoilHydro ASA (STL.OS) Friday said its production shares in the Mabruk and Marsuk fields in Libya have been reduced, as the government there claws back assets from international companies.

The renegotiations with the government over its production entitlements from the two fields have been ongoing for many months, StatoilHydro spokeswoman Mari Dotterud told Dow Jones Newswires.

"Our 2008 entitlement production from Marsuk has been reduced from 4% to 2.3% and for Mabruk from 11% to 5%," she said. Dotterud added that StatoilHydro expected the renegotiations and noted "we still have long-term investments in Libya and have a strong interest there."

"Nearly all the fields in Libya have been looked upon by the government to see if they can make some changes to increase the value for the Libyan government," she said.

Under the renegotiated contracts, the company's 2008 Marsuk output was cut to 3,000 barrels a day from 4,000 barrels a day, while its Mabruk production share dipped to 1,000 barrels a day from 2,300 barrels a day, Dotterud said.

She said the percentages in 2009 would be similar to those of 2008 but volumes different.

She said the two fields fall within two different licenses in Libya. The renegotiation over Masuk finished in 2008, while the deal over Mabruk has only just wrapped up, she said.

StatoilHydro's comments come as Libya's National Oil Company said in a statement on its Web site that oil major Total SA (TOT) and its partners Wintershall AG and StatoilHydro had all agreed to cut their stake in some Libyan assets to give the national oil company a bigger share.

The move is the latest by an oil rich nation to grab back assets from large oil companies, after Venezuela, Bolivia and Russia, in recent months.

StatoilHydro operates three exploration licenses in Libya covering 23,000 square kilometers. They are areas 94, 146 and 171. It also has a 20% interest in area 186 which is operated by Spain's Repsol.

Company Web site: www.statoilhydro.com

-By Elizabeth Adams, Dow Jones Newswires; [phone]; [e-mail]

(Adam Mitchell in Paris contributed to this report.)