Aker BP spent more than $200 million to acquire Norwegian assets from a division of Total, which it said would open access to millions of barrels of oil. Aker BP, which formed as a result of a tie up with the Norwegian subsidiary of BP, reported Tuesday it agreed to pay $205 million to a Norwegian subsidiary of Total for its interests in 11 licenses in Norwegian waters. The company said the new acreage includes four discoveries with recoverable resources of as much as 83 million barrels of oil equivalent. “We see a huge value creation potential in maximizing production through our operated production hubs,” CEO Karl Johnny Hersvik said in a statement. Two of the discoveries acquired from Total are close to fields already operated by Aker BP. Using only its current portfolio, Aker BP by 2023 should be able to produce around 330 million barrels of oil equivalent per day in part because of the recent acquisition of a regional subsidiary of Hess Corp. One of the first energy companies out with earnings, Aker BP in mid-July reported operating income for the second quarter was $975 million, 64 percent higher than the same period last year. Because Norway gets much of its own power from renewable energy, it’s an important producer for a European economy trying to break the Russian grip on the regional energy sector. The Norwegian Petroleum Directorate, the nation’s energy regulator, reported total production for oil in June averaged 1.48 million barrels per day. That’s 3 percent lower than government forecasts and the second month in a row the NPD attributed a decline in production to technical issues. To keep production going, the government called for a “significant effort” from all players.
Published: 31-07-2018
