Chevron to Sell Assets in Asia Worth Up to $5 Billion

By Kane Wu and Dan Strumpf 

HONG KONG -- Chevron Corp. is paring its Asia operations, selling assets worth up to $5 billion in an effort to raise cash, according to people familiar with the situation.

The California-based energy giant is set to begin selling its offshore China assets this month, the latest move in a series of divestments in Asia. The company is looking to raise up to $10 billion globally from asset sales, a big chunk of which will come from its Asia upstream operations, as part of a broader effort to cut costs and adapt to an environment of lower oil prices.

Among the assets Chevron is looking to sell is its stake in an offshore oil field production venture with China's state owned oil company Cnooc Ltd., which could fetch as much as $1 billion, according to people familiar with the situation.

The asset could be attractive to a range potential bidders including Chinese energy companies and sovereign funds, according to people familiar with the situation.

Chevron is also shopping its geothermal assets in Indonesia, the people said. The company is weighing bids worth more than $2 billion, according to one person. Geothermal energy uses steam extracted from underground to generate electricity. It is also selling natural gas field assets in Thailand, according to people familiar with that deal.

The proposed sales would mark a meaningful reduction in Chevron's footprint in oil and gas production in Asia. The company continues to operate a natural-gas production business in Bangladesh and onshore in China, as well as offshore production in Indonesia.

--P.R. Venkat in Singapore contributed to this article.

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

August 04, 2016 09:59 ET (13:59 GMT)

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