Commodities
Var Energi to Merge Assets With BlueNord, Become Europe's Largest Independent Oil, Gas Producer
Norway's Var Energi, on Tuesday said it has agreed to merge some of its businesses with BlueNord in a transaction that will result in it becoming Europe's largest independent oil and gas producer.As part of the deal, Var Energi will create a new subsidiary to merge with BlueNord. BlueNord shareholders will receive 248.4 million new Var Energi shares and 1.964 billion Norwegian kroner ($204 million) in cash, equivalent to 9.7153 Var Energi shares and 76.83 Norwegian kroner in cash for each BlueNord share held.After the transaction, existing Var Energi shareholders are expected to hold about 90.95% of the company, while BlueNord shareholders will own around 9.05%. Eni will remain the long-term majority shareholder of Var Energi with approximately 57.33% ownership.The transaction has been approved by the Board of Directors of the two companies."The transaction adds high-quality and long-life assets on the Danish Continental Shelf with stable long-term production and limited near term investments, supporting resilient cash generation, strengthening Var Energi's long-term dividend capacity and the position as a reliable and secure supplier of energy to Europe," the company said in a statement.BlueNord owns interests in producing assets across the DCS including the Tyra, Halfdan, Dan and Gorm hub areas, expected to contribute about 45,000 Boe/d of net production from 2026 and about 195 million Boe of net proved and probable reserves, and potential additional discovered resources.The assets are part of the Danish Underground Consortium, operated by TotalEnergies (TTE) and are located near Var Energi's existing assets in the southern Norwegian Continental Shelf, the statement said.The deal is expected to result in long-term production of around 450,000 barrels of oil equivalents per day for the combined entity, about 2.4 billion barrels of oil equivalents in reserves and resources, and an oil and gas production ratio of 65%:35%. It will also provide Var Energi with access to two new European gas delivery points Nybro and Den Helder and help maintain operating costs of about $10-$11 per BOE, the statement said.The transaction is expected to close at the year of this year, subject to approval by BlueNord shareholders along with other customary conditions, including relevant regulatory and governmental approvals among others.
$TTE