Moeve sells Algerian oil stakes to Pertamina, exits upstream

Moeve has agreed to sell its entire minority interests in three producing onshore oil fields in Algeria's Berkine Basin to Pertamina Algeria Eksplorasi Produksi (PAEP), a deal that completes the Spanish company's exit from exploration and production altogether.

The proposed sale covers Rhourde el Khrouf, Bir el Msana and Ourhoud — all non-operated positions Moeve holds through wholly controlled affiliates Cepsa Algérie and Cepsa (Rhourde El Rouni). The financial terms weren't disclosed, and each asset transfer still needs approvals from the relevant Algerian authorities before it closes.

For a company that spent decades as Compañia Española de Petróleos, better known as CEPSA, this is a quiet but decisive endpoint. Moeve is owned jointly by Mubadala Investment (62%) and Carlyle Group (38%), and the divestment marks its full withdrawal from the upstream sector.

What's actually changing hands?

Three producing conventional oil assets in the northeastern Berkine Basin:

• Rhourde el Khrouf — a producing conventional oil field operated by Sonatrach and Cepsa, located in Block 406a.
• Ourhoud — a producing conventional oil field spread across the Block 404, Block 405a and Block 406a concessions, operated by Organisation Ourhoud.
• Bir el Msana — an onshore asset in Block 401c with four production wells, three water injection wells and one gas storage well.

None of these are operatorships. Moeve has been a minority partner throughout, which makes the exit cleaner — no handover of operatorship, just the transfer of working interests to a buyer already established in the country.

And PAEP is exactly that. The subsidiary of Pertamina Internasional EP has managed the Indonesian national oil company's upstream oil and gas operations and investments in Algeria since 2014. The Berkine stakes slot into an existing organization rather than requiring a new one.

Is this the whole Algerian exit?

Not quite, but nearly. According to Reuters, citing an undisclosed source with knowledge of the matter, Moeve is also set to divest its minority interest in the onshore Timimoun gas field. Add that to the three Berkine oil fields and the upstream ledger in Algeria is empty — and with it, Moeve's entire E&P portfolio.

The takeaway in plain words: a mid-sized European producer is trading barrels for balance-sheet room and a pivot to energy-transition businesses.

Where does Moeve go from here?

Not out of Algeria. The company said it intends to keep exploring opportunities in the country, but in a different register. Its stated areas of interest now include renewable energy, green hydrogen and its derivatives, and other energy-transition activities.

Moeve is also weighing industrial, petrochemical, chemical and commercial cooperation, building on what it calls its longstanding collaboration with Sonatrach — the state company that operates Rhourde el Khrouf and remains the indispensable counterparty in almost anything an operator wants to do in Algerian energy.

The pattern fits a wider European trend: legacy producers trimming non-operated upstream positions abroad while redeploying capital toward refining, chemicals and low-carbon projects at home and abroad.

What's the watch item?

The approvals. Each asset transfer remains subject to customary conditions, including sign-off from the relevant Algerian authorities — and in a jurisdiction where Sonatrach sits at the center of every concession, regulatory timing is the variable that decides when Moeve's upstream exit actually closes.