Mubadala-Backed Moeve to Sell Algerian Oil Field Stakes to Pertamina
The sale of its interests in Rhourde el Khrouf, Bir el Msana and Ourhoud completes Moeve's exit from exploration and production as it shifts to low-carbon energy.
Moeve has agreed to sell its interests in three onshore oil fields in Algeria to Indonesia's Pertamina, a transaction that will complete the Spanish company's withdrawal from exploration and production as it shifts toward low-carbon energy.
The agreement was announced in a Wednesday statement. Two wholly owned Moeve subsidiaries, Cepsa Algérie and Cepsa (Rhourde El Rouni), signed with PT Pertamina Algeria Eksplorasi Produksi (PAEP).
The deal covers Moeve's entire interests in Rhourde el Khrouf (RKF), Bir el Msana (BMS) and Ourhoud (ORD), all in the Berkine Basin. Moeve operates none of the three. The company did not disclose the value, and each transfer is conditional on standard approvals, including clearance from the relevant Algerian authorities.
PAEP sits under Pertamina Internasional EP (PIEP). It has run the Indonesian group's upstream oil and gas operations and investments in Algeria since 2014, and invests in the country's energy sector alongside Sonatrach, the state-owned oil and gas company.
For Moeve, the sale closes a chapter rather than ending its presence in the country. The company said it will keep pursuing Algerian opportunities in renewables, green hydrogen, hydrogen-based products and other transition areas, alongside industrial, petrochemical, chemical and commercial cooperation, building on a long relationship with Sonatrach. It has already shed oil production assets in Abu Dhabi and South America.
The pivot carries a price tag. Moeve began construction on the first phase of the Andalusian Green Hydrogen Valley in Huelva on September 17, a joint investment of more than €1 billion ($1.1 billion). Moeve holds 51% of the project.
Nine-month results published on October 30 showed record capital expenditure of €885 million ($997.1 million), up 17% year on year, with 93% of it spent in Spain. Energy transition projects took €612 million ($689.5 million), or 69% of the total, up from 52% in the same period a year earlier. Upstream reported clean CCS EBITDA of $268.2 million (€238 million), 19% higher than €200 million ($225.3 million), driven by stronger crude prices.
Nearly all of that capital stayed at home, which makes Huelva and similar projects the clearest test of whether the transition spending produces returns.
Mubadala Investment Company, Abu Dhabi's sovereign investor, owns almost 62% of Moeve. Carlyle Group holds about 38%. The business traded as Cepsa until its 2024 rebrand.
