VNG Norge AS enters the Danish shelf | 24.08.2010
VNG Norge AS has decided to extend its activity to include the Danish shelf, too. The company has founded a subsidiary in Denmark, VNG Danmark ApS, which has already secured 15 per cent shares in a gas discovery, Svane, and an oil prospect, Solsort, under licences 4/98 and 3/09. The shares were purchased from DONG E&P A/S.
‘The establishment of VNG Danmark is a natural extension of our focus on northwestern Europe’, managing director Tord Pedersen in VNG Norge AS says. ‘VNG Norge aims to produce a significant portion of the gas sold by our parent company, VNG – Verbundnetz Gas AG in Germany. We must therefore increase our licence portfolio, primarily in Norway, but because of its proximity to the European gas market and its infrastructure the Danish shelf is also an attractive business area for VNG Norge.’
The then operator, ConocoPhillips, drilled an exploration well on the Svane block already in 2001. It found gas, but technical problems in connection with the drilling meant that the results were uncertain. A new well therefore needs to be drilled to evaluate the size of the discovery and the feasibility of recovering the gas. This appraisal well will be drilled next year.
Exploration drilling has so far not taken place in the Solsort prospect, but is expected to be undertaken this year.
The partners in neighbouring licences 4/98 and 3/09 are DONG E&P A/S (operator) 35 per cent, Bayerngas Danmark ApS 30 per cent, Nordsøfonden 20 per cent and VNG Danmark ApS 15 per cent.
VNG Norge AS is a wholly owned subsidiary of Leipzig-based VNG – Verbundnetz Gas Aktiengesellschaft, Germany’s third largest importer of gas. VNG Norge is responsible for the group’s production of oil and gas and has 25 licences on the Norwegian shelf. In 2009, the company made its first discovery as an operator on the Agat block. VNG Norge currently has 50 employees in its offices in Oslo and Stavanger.
For further information, please contact managing director Tord Pedersen, VNG Norge AS, phone 970 71 036, or communication manager Marleen Laschet, phone 971 42 817, or visit us at Stand 354 in Hall C during ONS 2010.
