MELBOURNE, Nov 2 (Reuters) - Malaysia's Sona Petroleum Bhd SONA.KL has agreed to buy the Stag oil field off northwestern Australia from Santos Ltd STO.AX and private firm Quadrant Energy for $50 million, Santos said on Monday.
Santos, scrambling to pay down A$8.8 billion ($6.3 billion)in net debt, had been looking to sell its two-thirds stake in the ageing field before it effectively put all its assets up for sale in August.
"Stag had delivered a strong production performance over the life of the field but it was now mature and no longer core to the company's strategy," said Joe Ariyaratnman, Santos' general manager for Western Australia and Northern Territory.
Wood Mackenzie had valued Santos' stake at $13 million.
Sona has agreed to take over environmental liabilities which kick in at the end of the field's life. ($1 = 1.4021 Australian dollars)