Point Resources completes takeover of Exxon’s Norway assets

Oil firm Point Resources has closed its acquisition of the ExxonMobil-operated Balder, Ringhorne, Ringhorne East, Jotun, and Forseti fields on the Norwegian Continental Shelf (NCS).

The agreement between the pair includes offshore installations and ExxonMobil’s offices at Forus. More than 300 ExxonMobil employees have transferred to Point Resources as part of the transaction.

Point Resources said on Thursday that the transition was concluded on November 1, 2017. From this date, Point Resources is the new operator of the fields. The sales agreement was signed back in March 2017.

With the newly acquired assets, Point Resources will increase its net production tenfold to approximately 50,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day (boepd). By 2022, the company expects to organically grow its production to over 80,000 boepd.

Morten Mauritzen, former lead country manager for ExxonMobil’s affiliates in Norway and the new CEO of Point Resources, said: “It is quite remarkable that 52 years after production license number one (PL 001) was awarded to ExxonMobil in 1965, with the first Norwegian oil discovery two years later, we still recognize further potential in the area. We are planning to extend the field life of Balder and Ringhorne, carry out new seismic surveys, and initiate new drilling campaigns to increase oil recovery.

“An exciting future lies ahead of us. I will enjoy meeting new challenges together with dedicated and competent staff. New activity planned in Norway’s oldest license area is a symbol of the possibilities still present on the Norwegian shelf.”

The previous CEO, Jan Harald Solstad, returns to Point Resources’ owner HitecVision as senior partner.

He said: “After finalizing the acquisition of ExxonMobil’s operated fields and transfer of operatorship, we have created a new significant Norwegian E&P company, with plans to invest more than 20 billion NOK on the NCS over the next five years.”

It is worth reminding that Point Resources already received consent from the Petroleum Safety Authority for the use of the facilities it took over from the former operator, ExxonMobil.

HitecVision-owned Point Resources was formed in January 2016 by merging three oil companies – Pure E&P, Spike Exploration, and Core Energy – to form a mid-sized independent oil company focused on the Norwegian Continental Shelf.