OKEA getting stake in Aker BP-operated North Sea license

August 28, 2025, by Dragana Nikše

Norway’s oil and gas company OKEA has reached an agreement with the Norwegian subsidiary of London-listed Harbour Energy to farm into the interest the latter holds in a license offshore Norway.

The Norwegian firm is set to get a 20% working interest in PL1153, Alpehumle, located approximately 35 kilometers north of the Gjøa platform, subject to customary government approval.

OKEA believes this will strengthen its position in Gjøa, where it already has a 12% working interest. The transaction’s effective date is 1 January 2025.

Partners in the Alpehumle license are Aker BP (40%) as operator, INPEX Idemitsu Norge (30%), Harbour Energy Norge (whose 30% interest will decrease to 10% post-transaction), and OKEA (20% post-transaction).

The exploration well at the license, which Aker BP believes holds 10–180 million barrels of oil equivalent (mmboe), is foreseen to be drilled in the first quarter of 2026.

This comes on the heels of the oil discoveries OKEA made in the Talisker exploration well at the Brage field earlier this week. The company described this as a significant milestone in the first phase of the Talisker area development project.

OKEA strikes oil at North Sea license

Exploration & Production

As for Harbour Energy, Southern Energy S.A. (SESA), a consortium the company is part of, recently reached a final investment decision (FID) for the charter of the floating liquefied natural gas (FLNG) unit MK II from Golar LNG.

The unit will be moored in the San Matías Gulf near another FLNG, Hilli. The pair will be used to monetize gas from the Vaca Muerta formation, dubbed the world’s second-largest shale gas resource, located onshore in Argentina’s Neuquén province.