Alv Bjørn Solheim set to become Managing Director of Wintershall Dea Norge
Alv Bjørn Solheim became head of the Business Unit Norway of Wintershall Dea and as such Managing Director of Wintershall Norge and DEA Norge on 1 May 2019. The two companies will legally merge later this year, and Solheim will take the role as managing director in the merged company to be named Wintershall Dea Norge AS. On 1 May 2019, the two German companies Wintershall and DEA completed their international merger to form Wintershall Dea, thereby founding Europe's leading independent gas and oil company.
Alv Bjørn Solheim succeeds Jon Sandnes, Managing Director of DEA Norge, and Hugo Dijkgraaf, who has headed Wintershall Norge. Solheim has worked for Wintershall since 2012, and most recently served as Technical Director and Deputy Managing Director at Wintershall Norge.
“I look forward to working as Managing Director with our talented and dedicated employees to shape the future. Wintershall Dea has excellent growth opportunities in Norway. The two companies with extensive experience have joined forces to form the leading independent European gas and oil company – and one of the largest producers on the Norwegian Continental Shelf. In the coming years Wintershall Dea Norge aims to produce more than 200,000 BOE per day. To achieve this, we will transfer our major projects Nova and Dvalin into production,” says Solheim.
Over the past seven years, the Norwegian has held various management positions at Wintershall in Norway. Prior to that, Solheim spent fifteen years at Equinor, working in various management positions. He holds a Bachelor's degree in Microprosessor Technology and a Master's degree in Strategy and Leadership.
Wintershall Dea will be the 3rd largest gas producers on the Norwegian Continental Shelf
After the merger between Wintershall Norge and DEA Norge is completed, Wintershall Dea Norge will become the fifth largest player in terms of net total production. With its headquarter in Stavanger and an office in Bergen, Wintershall Dea Norge will pursue a clear growth strategy in Norway and is set to expand its position on the shelf. With an active exploration strategy and the goal of long-term growth¬ in Norway, the merged company will constantly expand its license portfolio. Together Wintershall Norge and DEA Norge currently hold more than 100 licenses in Norway. At the last APA round in 2018 (APA: Awards in Predefined Areas), the two companies received a total of 15 new exploration licenses – five of them as operator. The future Wintershall Dea Norge is the operator of three producing fields, Brage, Vega and Maria, and is also the operator of the Nova and Dvalin fields which are in the development phase.
About Wintershall Dea
With the merger of Wintershall Holding GmbH and DEA Deutsche Erdoel AG, two successful companies with a long tradition have formed Europe’s leading independent natural gas and oil company: Wintershall Dea. The company with German roots and headquarters in Kassel and Hamburg explores for and produces gas and oil in 13 countries worldwide in an efficient and responsible manner. With activities in Europe, Russia, Latin America and the MENA region (Middle East & North Africa), Wintershall Dea has a global upstream portfolio and, with its participation in natural gas transport, is also active in the midstream business.
Wintershall Dea stands for more than 120 years of experience as an operator and project partner along the entire E&P value chain. The company employs around 4,000 people worldwide from over 60 nations. The company plans to increase its average daily production from around 590,000 barrels of oil equivalent to a range of 750,000 to 800,000 barrels in the period between 2021 and 2023. In the medium term, an initial public offering of Wintershall Dea is envisaged.
