(Corrects final paragraph to read "began doing the same a year later" instead of "did the same a year later" as Exxon sale is not yet complete).
* Hopes for Q4 listing if price is right
* Analyst says unit could be worth more than $2 billion
(Adds quotes from CEO, analyst)
By Gwladys Fouche and Richard Solem
OSLO, Sept 2 (Reuters) - Norwegian oil company Statoil is readying a fourth-quarter flotation of its international chain of gas stations, joining the industry trend to focus on more lucrative upsteam operations.
The retail division's listing on the Oslo stock exchange will test the appetite for new share offerings in Norway along with the expected IPO of insurance group Gjensidige due in late 2010.
"We will move forward with preparing for the listing and then we'll see whether we get the right value," Statoil Chief Executive Helge Lund told Reuters on the sidelines of an oil industry seminar on Thursday.
Lund declined to comment on the potential value the IPO. He told reporters that Statoil expected to keep more than 50 percent of the division during the bourse listing.
"This is not a rush sale. We will do this if it is right and we get a value that we think is right," Lund said.
Analyst Trond Omdal at Arctic Securities said he had estimated a potential market capitalisation for the unit of 10-12 billion Norwegian crowns ($1.62-1.94 billion), but added that it could fetch more based on recent strong earnings.
"In the first half 2010 it had operating earnings of 1.0 billion," Omdal said.
"If this is taken into account, and the market sentiment is good enough, you could argue for up to 14 billion based on (a multiple of) 10 times expected earnings after tax."
Statoil's recent major transactions include selling a minority stake in the Peregrino offshore field in Brazil. It has also increased its shale gas assets in the United States.
"For investors, Statoil's sale of the Peregrino stake for $3 billion was a bigger event, but Energy and Retail will be a major company for the Oslo bourse," Omdal said.
Statoil's Energy and Retail (E&R) division serves more than 1 million customers per day from 2,300 filling stations in eight countries, as well as units that supply lubricants, aviation and marine fuels.
Several big oil companies have sold big chunks of their retail operations to focus investment on finding and producing gas and oil.
BP sold its U.S. retail network in 2007 and Exxon Mobil began doing the same a year later. Royal Dutch Shell has agreed to sell retail networks in Greece, Ireland, Kenya and the Caribbean in recent years. (Editing by Dan Lalor and Michael Shields) ($1 = 6.179 Norwegian crowns)