OSLO, Dec 9 (Reuters) - Equinor ( EQNR ) has closed the

planned sale of its assets in Nigeria and Azerbaijan for a total

consideration of up to $2 billion, completing exits from the two

countries after some 30 years, the Norwegian oil and gas firm

said on Monday.

The divestments, first announced in 2023 and completed in

recent weeks, will boost cash flow in the fourth quarter and

were in line with Equinor's ( EQNR ) strategy to optimise its

international portfolio, the group said in a statement.

"The exits enable investments to deepen further in countries

where Equinor ( EQNR ) can add the most value and build a more focused

and robust international portfolio," the company said without

elaborating.

Equinor ( EQNR ) has previously said it plans to increase its

international output by some 100,000 barrels of oil equivalent

per day (boed) by 2030 by bringing on stream new fields in

Brazil, Britain and the United States.

In Nigeria, Equinor ( EQNR ) sold its assets, including a 20.21%

stake in the Agbami oil field operated by Chevron ( CVX ), to

Chappal Energies for up to $1.2 billion, consisting of $710

million in cash and the remainder in contingent payments.

The company did not say how market prices and other factors

could affect contingent payments.

In Azerbaijan it sold a 7.27% stake in the Azeri Chirag

Gunashli (ACG) field, a 8.71% stake in the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan

(BTC) oil pipeline and a 50% stake in the Karabagh project to

Azerbaijan's SOCAR and India's ONGC for a total of $745 million.

Equinor's ( EQNR ) net production in Azerbaijan and Nigeria averaged

24,600 and 17,700 barrels of oil equivalent per day (boed),

respectively, during the first three quarters of 2024.