OREANDA-NEWS. E.ON has signed an agreement to sell 100 percent of its shares in E.ON E&P Norge AS (E.ON E&P Norge) to DEA Deutsche Erdoel AG (DEA). The transaction value is \\$1.6 billion, including \\$0.1 billion of cash on the balance sheet as at the effective date of January 1st 2015.

E.ON placed its North Sea E&P business under strategic review in November 2014. E.ON E&P Norge holds the Norwegian portfolio of E.ON’s oil and gas North Sea upstream business, comprising equity interests in 43 licenses including a 28 percent interest in Skarv and a 30 percent interest in Njord. The divestment of E.ON E&P Norge represents a significant step forward in this review process. E.ON’s UK E&P business remains under strategic review and E.ON will provide an update in due course.

E.ON CFO Michael Sen said: “The successful sale of our E&P business in Norway is a landmark transaction in the sector; as an important step in our overall financial framework it provides flexibility to implement our strategy and reposition the Group. The outcome demonstrates that E.ON E&P is a high performing business with a strong asset base and superbly professional employees. DEA has a long history in Norway, and I am convinced that they will continue to build on this success story in the future. I want to thank all E.ON E&P Norge employees for the excellent work they have done as part of E.ON. We will work closely with the new owner to ensure the course for the future of the business.”

The transaction is subject to customary regulatory approvals.

DEA is an international operator in the field of exploration and production of crude oil and natural gas based in Hamburg. Its focus is on safe, sustainable and environmental conscious exploitation of oil and gas. DEA has 116 years of experience working along the whole upstream value-chain as operator or project partner. With a staff force of 1,400 employees DEA has stakes in production facilities and concessions in, among others, Germany, the UK, Norway, Denmark, Egypt and Algeria.