Vår Energi ASA and BlueNord ASA on Tuesday announced a merger that they said would create Europe’s biggest independent oil and gas producer.
Vår Energi, which operates in the Norwegian continental shelf (NCS), will acquire BlueNord, which operates in the Danish North Sea, by issuing 248.4 million new shares and paying an additional NOK 1.96 billion ($204 million) in cash to the latter’s shareholders. BlueNord shareholders would receive 9.7153 Vår Energi shares plus NOK 76.83 for each BlueNord share. Both companies trade on the Oslo stock exchange.
“The DCS is an attractive offshore basin with a stable and supportive fiscal regime and strong geological and operational similarities to the Norwegian Continental Shelf, and Vår Energi’s existing assets in the North Sea”, a joint statement said.
The transaction will strengthen Vår Energi with increased scale, cash generation and dividend capacity, while providing both Vår Energi and BlueNord shareholders with continued exposure to future value creation through ownership in Vår Energi”, the companies added.
They expect the combined entity to have a long-term production of about 450,000 barrels of oil equivalent a day (boed), of which 65 percent would be oil.
The enlarged Vår Energi would have around 2.4 billion boe of proven and probable reserves plus contingent resources.
BlueNord owns stakes in the Tyra, Halfdan, Dan and Gorm hub areas, part of the TotalEnergies SE-operated Danish Underground Consortium. “The assets contribute approximately 45 kboepd of net production from 2026 and approximately 195 million barrels of oil equivalent of net 2P reserves plus near-term 2C contingent resources, extending production beyond 2040”, the statement said.
The assets are “located in close proximity to Vår Energi’s existing assets in the southern part of the NCS”, the statement added.
“As Vår Energi continues to grow it is a natural evolution of our strategy to step outside of Norway, and Denmark offers a low risk, stable operating and fiscal regime, with similar characteristics to the NCS”, said Vår Energi chief executive Nick Walker.
BlueNord CEO Euan Shirlaw said, “Since 2019, our shareholders have supported BlueNord through the delivery of the Tyra Redevelopment and benefited from a period of outsized distributions of close to $800 million. This transaction is the natural next phase: it gives our shareholders ownership in an investment-grade company with greater scale and diversification, and the balance sheet to sustain long-term returns”.
Vår Energi shareholders would own approximately 90.95 percent of the new company’s share capital. BlueNord shareholders are expected to own about 9.05 percent. Italy’s state-backed energy major Eni SpA “will remain long-term strategic majority shareholder with approximately 57.33 percent ownership post transaction”, the statement said.
The parties expect to complete the transaction by yearend, subject to approval by BlueNord shareholders and other customary conditions. The transaction would be executed as a combination between BlueNord and a Vår Energi subsidiary created for the transaction.
“As a result of the expected value creation from the transaction, Vår Energi intends to increase the dividend for the second quarter of 2026 to $350 million”, the statement said. “Vår Energi also intends to distribute a dividend of $350 million for the third quarter of 2026 to the shareholders of the combined company”, it added.
Vår Energi had $29.74 billion in assets, of which $4.87 billion are current, and $27.76 billion in liabilities, of which $5.4 billion are current, as of the end of the second quarter, according to its quarterly report.
BlueNord had $3.31 billion in assets, of which $371.7 million are current, and $2.84 billion in liabilities, of which $349 million are current, as of the end of the second quarter, according to BlueNord’s quarterly report.