E.ON sells Norwegian E&P business for $1.6 billion

German energy company E.ON has agreed to sell its Norwegian exploration and production business for $1.6 billion to DEA Deutsche Erdoel AG.

Under the agreement, DEA Deutsche Erdoel AG, formerly know as RWE Dea, will obtain equity interests in 43 licenses including a 28 percent interest in Skarv and a 30 percent interest in Njord fields, offshore Norway.

E.ON CFO Michael Sen said: „The successful sale of our E&P business in Norway is a landmark transaction in the sector; as an important step in our overall financial framework it provides flexibility to implement our strategy and reposition the Group. The outcome demonstrates that E.ON E&P is a high performing business with a strong asset base and superbly professional employees.

“DEA has a long history in Norway, and I am convinced that they will continue to build on this success story in the future. I want to thank all E.ON E&P Norge employees for the excellent work they have done as part of E.ON. We will work closely with the new owner to ensure the course for the future of the business.”

DEA Deutsche Erdoel AG is an oil and gas company owned by LetterOne, an investment firm run by the Russian billionaire Mikhail Fridman. The company is chaired by Lord Browne.

Lord Browne, Chairman of the Supervisory Board of DEA Deutsche Erdoel AG, said: “This acquisition is the first step in DEA’s new growth strategy. DEA has access to substantial financial resources, and I expect the company to make further investments in the Norwegian Continental Shelf, as well as in its other core areas.”

“This acquisition in Norway is a perfect fit to our renewed business strategy,” said Thomas Rappuhn, CEO of DEA Deutsche Erdoel AG. “It will grow our reserves, significantly increase our production and add growth optionality to our portfolio.

The news comes only days after DEA Deutsche Erdoel AG announced the sale of its UK North Sea fields to the Swiss company Ineos. The company had been forced to divest the UK North Sea assets by the British government who alleged that the company’s owners could be put under sanctions in future as part of E.U. sanctions on Moscow, for its involvement in the Ukraine crisis.

Offshore Energy Today Staff