Tuesday 11 December 2018

On 10 December, after receiving appropriate approvals, the merger between Point Resources AS and Eni Norge AS has concluded. The two companies have joined forces to create Vår Energi AS, with a new organisation of about 800 employees.

Vår Energi is the largest independent exploration and production (E&P) company on the Norwegian continental shelf, with a net production rate of more than 170 000 barrels of oil equivalent per day (boepd) in 2018. Vår Energi is dedicated to exploring, developing and producing oil and gas resources offshore Norway.

Kristin F. Kragseth has stepped into the role as Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Vår Energi, heading a new management of 13 professionals with extensive experience from Point Resources, ExxonMobil and Eni. Philip D. Hemmens has become Chairman of Vår Energi’s Board of Directors.

Currently the company holds ownership in 17 producing oil and gas fields in Norway. Vår Energi plans to significantly increase its oil and gas production by investing approximately 65 billion NOK in more than ten development projects over the next years, raising production levels to net 250,000 boepd in the early 2020s.

A major operated project contributing to achieve this is the redevelopment of the first NCS license area, PL 001 from 1965. The redevelopment has been named the Balder X Project.

The redevelopment of the Balder and Ringhorne fields entails major, future project activities such as extending the lifetime of the Jotun floating production storage and offloading vessel (FPSO) towards 2045; extending the life of the Balder FPSO towards 2030; and drilling of 15 new production wells in the Balder field area and 11 new production wells in the Ringhorne field area. Key contracts for the redevelopment project will be awarded and tenders will be submitted in the near future.

Vår Energi has reserves and resources of more than 1,250 million boe, targeting development of about 500 million boe. The company is committed to continued exploration expenditure across all parts of the NCS in the years to come.

Vår Energi holds a strategic position in the Barents Sea. The partly electrified Goliat field, with one of the lowest CO2-emitting installations on the NCS, represents the first infrastructure for oil production in the region. Vår Energi aims to further develop this potential through near field exploration activities and increased oil recovery. Furthermore, through the partnership in Johan Castberg, Vår Energi is investing heavily in the future development of Norway’s northernmost oil province.

The company name reflects future opportunities in creating values that are “ours” –Norwegian society, employees, business partners, local communities and shareholders. It also implies a new beginning for a new, leading E&P company, as Vår also means “spring” in Norwegian. Vår Energi is focused solely on the Norwegian shelf and has the capacity and competency to deliver ambitious growth plans, whilst also operating safely and sustainably.

About Vår Energi AS

Vår Energi AS is a new leading, independent E&P company on the NCS. The company is the result of the merger of Point Resources AS and Eni Norge AS that was announced in July 2018.Vår Energi is jointly owned by Italy based energy company Eni (69.6 percent) and Norway based specialist oil and gas private equity investor HitecVision (30.4 percent). Vår Energi is the first E&P independent subsidiary of Eni, where the CEO reports to an independent Board of Directors.

Vår Energi has ownership interests in more than 100 licenses and operates oil and gas production across the entire Norwegian shelf; the Goliat field in the Barents Sea, the Marulk field in the Norwegian Sea, and the Balder, Jotun and Ringhorne fields in the North Sea. The company has a best practice operating organisation of 800 employees with over 50 years’ NCS experience, built on the previous companies’ legacies offshore Norway from the 1960s.