Norway: Lime Petroleum to Farm Into North Sea Oil & Gas Field

Rex International's subsidiary Lime Petroleum has entered into sale and purchase agreements with the Norwegian oil firms DNO and OKEA to acquire a stake in a Norwegian North Sea License containing the Brasse field, which is expected to start commercial production in 2027.

Lime Petroleum will acquire 10.7212 percent from DNO and 6.2788 percent from OKEA.

The operator, OKEA, reported recoverable resources in Brasse to be 21 to 29 mmboe (3.39 million cubic meters to 4.58 million cubic meters) in the recently published environmental impact study for the field, of which 25 to 30 percent is gas. 

Lime Petroleum's farm-in of a total 17 percent interest in PL740 will accordingly result in some 4 mmboe of contingent resources net to Lime.

The farm-in is conditional on customary governmental approvals, and Lime expects that completion will take place at the end of 2023 or early 2024.

OKEA and DNO currently hold 45.5576 percent and 50 percent in the license respectively. M Vest Energy AS holds the remaining 4.4424 percent interest in the license.

DNO said back in August that a fast-track development concept had been agreed for the 2016 Brasse offshore oil and gas discovery.

The concept selection paved the way for detailed design studies to link up with the Brage field in which DNO also has an interest. A final investment decision is expected early next year, DNO said at the time.

The project was restarted in early 2023 as the DNO's subsidiary, DNO Norge AS (50 percent) and its then-new license partner, OKEA ASA (50 percent) initiated a review of a simplified tieback to the Brage platform in operation since 1993 and located 13 kilometers north of Brasse. 

OKEA took over as Brage operator last fall, and the main commercial terms for the tie-in were in August agreed upon with the Brage joint venture, in which DNO holds a 14.2567 percent stake.

This review led to the approval of a concept selection (DG2) involving a "much-reduced" topside modification scope on Brage compared to previous considerations of a linkup with a host platform.