DNO Doubles Faroe Petroleum Stake

Oslo-listed independent DNO, largely focused onshore Kurdistan, said April 26 it has further built up its North Sea exposure. Earlier this month it agreed to acquire Israeli group Delek's 15.37% stake in UK-listed Faroe Petroleum for some £70.4mn ($99mn) and said it planned to increase its holding further.

DNO now says April 26 it has acquired 28.71% of Faroe Petroleum for £1.25/share through four separate transactions in April. The bigger stake "complements DNO's existing portfolio of 19 exploration licences offshore Norway and the UK." Faroe has over 60 exploration, development and production licences offshore UK, Norway and Ireland and is production operator of the UK Schooner and Ketch gas fields and the Norwegian Trym and Oselvar fields.

DNO also reported a profit of $18mn in Q1 and said its 1Q revenue of $142mn was its highest in nearly four years.

It has also added a third, predominantly oil, licence in Kurdistan: effective April 10, it is the operator of the Baeshiqa licence with a 40% paying (32% net) interest. The Baeshiqa acquisition from ExxonMobil, announced September 2017, reduces the latter's 80% stake by half to 40% paying (32% net). Other partners are Turkish Energy Company with a 20% (16% net) interest and the Kurdistan Regional Government with a 20% carried net interest. DNO's two other Kurdistan licences (including Tawke and Peshkabir fields) produce over 110,000 b/d oil gross.