With portfolio now five oil & gas fields lighter, Vår Energi’s stake in operated asset gets boost

Norwegian oil and gas player Vår Energi has wrapped up the divestment of its interests in five oil and gas fields in the Norwegian Sea for a fixed after-tax consideration of $51 million and the transfer of a stake DNO Norge, a subsidiary of DNO, has in one of Vår Energi’s core hub areas.

Vår Energi disclosed the sale of its interests in the late-life Norne area assets in May 2024, which were being offloaded to DNO Norge for $51 million and the latter’s 22.62% stake in the Ringhorne East unit, as part of its strategy to dispose of non-core assets to high-grade its portfolio, supporting further growth and long-term value creation in its identified core hub areas.

Located in the Norwegian Sea, the Norne area includes the Norne (6.9%), Urd (11.5%)  Skuld (11.5%), and Marulk (20%) fields along with the Verdande (10.49%) development project. Vår Energi’s net production from the Norne area fields was around 3,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day (boepd) in 2023 and the first quarter of 2024. The firm highlights that the net remaining proved plus probable (2P) reserves for the fields were 7 million barrels of oil equivalent at year-end 2023.

All fields in the area are tied back to the Equinor-operated FPSO Norne, which came online in 1997. While the produced oil is loaded from the FPSO to tankers for export, the gas is exported by pipeline through the Åsgard transport system. The Norne license has applied for a lifetime extension until 2036.

According to DNO, the acquisition will create a new core area for the company as it will hold interests in all producing and fields under development in the greater Norne area, including the Norne hub. Before this deal, the firm had interests in Marulk (17%), Alve (32%), and the ongoing Andvare development (32%). The company has assigned 22.62% interest in the Ringhorne East unit to Vår Energi, bringing the Norwegian player’s interest to 92.6%.

“The assigned assets are late life, and the transaction will improve Vår Energi’s unit operating costs and emissions intensity outlook. DNO will assume the associated decommissioning liabilities for the Norne area field interests,” outlined the Norwegian firm.

Recently, Vår Energi changed its timeline for the first oil from the Balder X life extension project by moving the start-up to the second quarter of 2025. The company also joined forces with Equinor on a new area-wide emergency preparedness solution for the southwestern Barents Sea.