Norway’s Aker Exploration and Det Norske Oljeselskap have concluded their merger, it has been announced.
The newly merged company will still be called Det Norske oljeselskap, with shares being listed on the Oslo Stock Exchange.
Under the merger, Det Norske shareholders obtained nearly 1.4 shares in Aker Exploration for every Det Norske share. Aker will be the biggest shareholder in the merged company with nearly 40% of the shares.
Det Norske said the merger increases licenses to 70 and provides a larger and more diversified exploration portfolio and improved access to rig capacity.
Det Norske chief executive Erik Haugane, who retains his title in the merged company, said he aims to increase the company’s production to between 15,000 and 20,000 bpd in four to six years’ time by bringing new discoveries on stream.
“We now have an ownership and a financial platform that can secure the growth of this company,” Haugane said.
Det Norske has a solid foothold in the deepwater area of the Norwegian Sea, where Aker earlier this year obtained stakes in four licences in the 20th round.
Det Norske plans to drill some of the Norwegian Sea prospects in 2011 or 2012.
