BP, Det Norske to form joint Norwegian independent producer

(ShareCast News) - BP and Det Norske Oljeselskap on Friday said they were combining the assets and expertise from both companies' exploration and production operations to create Aker BP ASA, which will become Norway's largest independent oil and gas producer.Under the terms of the proposed deal, Aker BP will be independently operated and listed on the Oslo Stock Exchange. It will be jointly owned by current Det Norske shareholder Aker (40%), other Det norske shareholders (30%) and BP (30%). BP will also receive a cash payment of $140m plus positive working capital adjustments as part of the transaction.The companies said they believed the new "Norwegian super-independent" could organically grow production to more than 250,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day by the early 2020s. Headquartered in Trondheim, Det Norske Oljeselskap ASA is an independent exploration and production company with exploration, development and production activities on the Norwegian Continental Shelf. Det Norske merged with Aker Exploration in 2009 and acquired Marathon Oil Norway in 2014. It employs about 550 people.Det Norske is the operator of producing fields Alvheim, Volund, Vilje and Jette. The company is also the operator of the large Ivar Aasen development. The company is also a partner in the Johan Sverdrup field, one of the largest on the Norwegian continental shelf.Headquartered in Fornebu (Oslo), Aker ASA is a leading Norwegian company that owns interests in subsidiaries in oilfield services construction and marine sectors. Aker owns 49.9% of Det Norske along with significant ownership stakes in Aker Solutions (oilfield services) and Kvaerner (oilfield construction) amongst other interests. BP Norge has been active on the Norwegian continental shelf since 1965 and operates five producing fields comprised of 13 platforms and one floating, production, storage and offloading vessel. The five fields are the Skarv field in the Norwegian Sea and Valhall, Hod, Ula and Tambar in the North Sea. Headquartered in Stavanger, BP Norge has approximately 850 employees.