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    Aker BP To Buy Norwegian Assets from Total

Summary

The leading Norwegian independent has agreed to buy from Total its interests in a portfolio of 11 licences, including a discovery close to the Skarv gas field.

by: Mark Smedley

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Natural Gas & LNG News, Europe, Corporate, Exploration & Production, News By Country, France, Norway

Aker BP To Buy Norwegian Assets from Total

Norway's Aker BP said July 31 it has agreed to buy from Total for $205mn cash its interests in a portfolio of 11 licences on the Norwegian continental shelf.

The portfolio includes four discoveries with net recoverable resources of 83mn barrels of oil equivalent (boe), according to Norwegian regulator NPD estimates, said Aker BP.  

The Alve Nord mostly gas find is located north of the Aker BP-operated Skarv gas and oil field in the Norwegian Sea, so can be produced via the Skarv floating production, storage and offloading unit (FPSO). Alve Nord is assessed by NPD as having 4.86bn m3 gas and 2.14mn m3 oil (both recoverable), for a total of 6.99mn boe.

Two of the discoveries, Trell and Trine, are located near the Aker BP-operated Alvheim field (central North Sea) and are expected to be produced through the Alvheim FPSO, while the fourth discovery Rind is part of the Noaka area where Aker BP is working towards a new area development that would have overall gross recoverable resources of more than 500mn boe.

Evy Glorstad-Clark, who was appointed Aker BP's new head of exploration in mid-July, was until recently its Noaka asset development manager. (Noaka stands for North of Alvheim and Askja-Krafla)  

In addition to these finds, the transaction also provides the company with increased interest in exploration acreage near the Aker BP-operated Ula field.  The deal requires Norwegian regulatory approval.

The banner photo, also shown above, is of the Skarv FPSO and is courtesy of Aker BP