Wintershall Dea sells infrastructure assets in Norway
- CapeOmega and Solveig Gas Norway to acquire Wintershall Dea’s interests in Nyhamna terminal and Polarled pipeline
- Wintershall Dea streamlines portfolio in Norway
Wintershall Dea, through its wholly owned subsidiary Wintershall Norge, has agreed to sell its 5.0304 % interest in the Nyhamna terminal to CapeOmega and its 13.2550 % interest in the Polarled pipeline to Solveig Gas Norway. The transaction on the Norwegian Continental Shelf is part of a broader programme aimed at optimising Wintershall Dea’s global portfolio, following the completion of the merger between Wintershall and DEA in May 2019, which created Europe’s leading independent gas and oil producer.
“The sale of these two assets is an important step in the direction of capturing value from active portfolio management. The transaction will allow us to streamline our business activities in Norway and focus our efforts on higher priority assets in our portfolio”, said Mario Mehren, CEO of Wintershall Dea.
Focus on upstream activities
Wintershall Dea is highly committed to Norway, where it holds interests in over 100 licenses. In the year ended 31 December 2018, Norway accounted for 23.8 % (140 mboe/d) of the Group's aggregated production (590 mboe/d).
“Norway will continue to play an important role in Wintershall Dea’s international portfolio in the coming years and this transaction is in line with our strategy of focusing on our upstream activities and ambition to capture future growth opportunities on the Norwegian Continental Shelf”, said Alv Solheim, Managing Director of Wintershall Dea in Norway.
Next to operating three Norwegian producing fields, the company is also developing its own operated Dvalin and Nova fields, and is a partner in several high-profile projects, such as the Njord re-development, Ærfugl and the Snorre Expansion Project.
The transaction is expected to close by the end of 2019, pending approvals from the Norwegian Ministry of Petroleum and Energy and the Norwegian Ministry of Finance.
Polarled is the first pipeline on the Norwegian continental shelf crossing the Arctic Circle. The pipeline was completed in 2015. It delivers gas to the Nyhamna gas terminal since the fourth quarter of 2018, when the Aasta Hansteen field achieved first production. Polarled is designed for connecting additional future developments in the area. Gassco AS is the operator of the facility.
About Nyhamna
The Nyhamna terminal is a gas processing and storage facility initially constructed to process gas from the Ormen Lange field. It also receives volumes from the Polarled pipeline since the fourth quarter of 2018. After processing, the gas is transported through the Langeled pipeline to the central North Sea in the UK. Shell is technical service provider and Gassco is the operator of the facility.
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 in 2018 to around 750,000 boe/d by 2023.
