Chevron sells stake in Chad oil concession

Chevron Corp, the second-largest U.S. oil company, said on Friday it sold its 25 percent interest in an oil concession and pipeline system in southern Chad to the country's government for about $1.3 billion.

Chevron is making Texas's oil-rich Permian shale field a top investment priority after pouring billions of dollars into riskier energy projects across Africa, Asia and South America.

The Chad deal includes the sale of Chevron's interests in seven fields in the Doba Basin, which produced an average of about 18,000 barrels of crude oil per day in 2013, Chevron said in a statement.

Chevron is selling its 21 percent interest in the pipeline system, which ships crude to the coast of Cameroon as well as associated marine facilities, the San Ramon, California-based company said.

"The combination of current market conditions and the size of the assets relative to our portfolio make this an ideal time for a divestiture," Ali Moshiri, president of Chevron Africa and Latin America Exploration and Production Company, said in a statement.

Last year, 75 percent of Chevron's oil and gas production came from outside the United States, it said.

Shares of Chevron rose 84 cents, or less than 1 percent, to $126.95 in afternoon New York Stock Exchange trading. So far this year the stock is up 1.6 percent, underperforming a 5 percent gain in the Standard & Poor 500 index.