Norwegian oil and gas company Vår Energi has entered into an agreement with Petrolia NOCO (Petrolia) to divest its entire stake in a field located in the Norwegian North Sea as part of its ongoing portfolio optimization efforts.

Under the terms of the deal, Vår Energi is selling its 12.26% interest in the Brage field to Petrolia. Brage is a late-life producing field located in the Central North Sea and is currently operated by OKEA (35.2%). Other partners in the Brage field include Lime Petroleum (33.84%), DNO Norge (14.26%), Vår Energi (12.26%), and M Vest Energy (4.44%). The field commenced production in 1993 and features a production, drilling, and quarters platform with oil transported via OTS/Sture Terminal and gas offloaded through Gassled.

Stefano Pujatti, CFO of Vår Energi, explained that the transaction aligns with the company's long-term strategic goals and performance metrics aimed at cost reduction and enhancing value creation.

Vår Energi's net production from the Brage field was 1.0 thousand barrels of oil equivalent per day (Kboepd) in the first half of 2023, with remaining net reserves of 1.9 million barrels of oil equivalent (mmboe) at the end of 2022. The sale of Vår Energi's stake is contingent on standard regulatory approvals and is anticipated to be finalized by the end of 2023.

In addition to this divestment, Vår Energi is actively working towards achieving its production growth target of exceeding 350,000 barrels per day by the end of 2025, with potential for additional growth through its acquisition of Neptune Energy Norway. The company is also committed to decarbonization efforts through its involvement in offshore wind projects, including a collaboration with Odfjell Oceanwind and Source Galileo to explore floating offshore wind opportunities through a pilot project in the Barents Sea.

Furthermore, Vår Energi has signed a five-year agreement with Halliburton to provide drilling services related to exploration and production drilling across its Norwegian Continental Shelf (NCS) portfolio. The company's drilling activities are concentrated in four strategic hubs: the Balder/Grane area, the North Sea, the Norwegian Sea, and the Barents Sea.

Recently, Vår Energi leased a sixth-generation semi-submersible rig from COSL Drilling Europe for drilling operations in the Barents Sea, intensifying its efforts to discover additional hydrocarbon reserves offshore Norway.