OREANDA-NEWS. BASF Group company Wintershall is continuing its growth course in Norway. By acquiring shares in the production fields Gjoa (5%) and Vega (24.5%), Wintershall is increasing its production in Norway from about 40,000 barrels of oil equivalent (boe) to about 60,000 boe per day. In addition, Wintershall is taking over shares in the Aasta Hansteen development project (24%), the Asterix discovery (19%), the Polarled pipeline project (13.2%) and in four exploration licences near Aasta Hansteen.

The shares in the assets encompass reserves and resources (2P/2C) of around 170 million boe. Furthermore, Wintershall will also assume the operatorship of the Vega production field.[1] The transfer of operatorship from Statoil to Wintershall is planned for the end of the first quarter of 2015.

Wintershall has purchased the shares for US\\$1.25 billion. The transaction is financially effective retroactively to January 1, 2014.

A further payment of up to US\\$50 million will be made once Aasta Hansteen has been developed in accordance with the current project plan. Additionally both companies have agreed to work together in developing the exploration potential of the Voring Basin.

"With this transaction, we are taking a major step towards achieving our goal of establishing ourselves as one of the leading oil and gas companies in Norway," said Rainer Seele, Chairman of the Board of Executive Directors of Wintershall.

"Last year we took over the operatorship of the Brage platform and commenced the self-operated production of oil and gas in Norway. We have always said that this is just the beginning for us and that we want to increasingly position ourselves as an operator of producing fields. I am therefore happy that the agreement with Statoil also envisages that Wintershall shall take over the operatorship of Vega," said Bernd Schrimpf, Managing Director of Wintershall Norge.