Aker and DNO complete merger

Norwegian players Aker Exploration and Det Norske Oljeselskap (DNO) have completed their merger, a move which creates a new major player on the Norwegian Continental Shelf.
The deal boosts Det Norske's licences to 70. The new company also benefits from Aker's financial muscle. Aker is the investment company of Norwegian entrepreneur Kjell Inge Rokke, who is chairman of the enlarged Det Norske.

"In this business, size matters. We now have an ownership and a financial platform that can secure the growth of this company," said Det Norske chief executive Erik Haugane, who retains his title in the combined company.
While it is already the second-largest player in Norway after Statoil in terms of operated licences, Det Norske only has about 1,800 bpd of production. Haugane aims to boost production to between 15,000 and 20,000 bpd within four to six years by bringing new finds on stream.

Det Norske has a strong position in the frontier deep-water area of the Norwegian Sea, where Aker Exploration secured stakes in four licences in the 20th round earlier this year. Some of the Norwegian Sea prospects lie in the same geological trend as Shell's Gro discovery from earlier this year. Det Norske aims to drill some of these prospects in 2011 or 2012, Haugane said.
Under the terms of the merger, shareholders in Det Norske received 1.403328 shares in Aker Exploration for every Det Norske share. Based on the exchange ratio, shareholders in Det Norske hold 82 % in the combined company, while shareholders in Aker Exploration have the remaining 18 %.