Norwegian oil company, Statoil has sold its shares in the Shah Deniz project, the South Caucasus Pipeline and the Azerbaijan Gas Supply to Malaysian oil and gas company PETRONAS on Monday. The shares equaled 15.5 percent 15.5 percent and 12.4 percent respectively. Other partners within the project include British Petroleum (28.8 percent,) Iran's NICO (10 percent,) French Total (10 percent,) Russia's Lukoil (10 percent,) Turkish TPAO (nine percent,) and SOCAR (16.7 percent.) "The divestment optimizes our portfolio and strengthens our financial flexibility to prioritize industrial development and high-value growth," Lars Christian Bacher, executive vice president for Development and Production International in Statoil said. Statoil's production in the second quarter from Shah Deniz was equivalent to 38,000 barrels a day. Despite the divestment in this project the company is committed to business in Azerbaijan. The transaction is expected to be finalized in early 2015, subject to authority review.