In November 2003, DNO ASA signed an agreement with Lundin Petroleum AB for the sale of DNO's assets in the UK and Ireland and all its assets on the Norwegian shelf, with the exception of a 10 per cent interest in the Glitne field. After entering into the Lundin agreement, DNO acquired interest in three new licences in Norway, including one operatorship.
The work of restructuring the company began immediately after the Lundin agreement was signed. Measures implemented include reallocation and reprioritisation of resources relating to the sale of assets in the UK and Ireland.. In addition, DNO has appointed Roar Tessem as the new head of DNO's activity in Norway, while Per-Gustav Granholm has been appointed as exploration manager for the Norwegian shelf. The company is now in the process of recruiting several new professionals for its organisation in Norway.
Roar Tessem has a Master of Science in Petroleum Engineering from NTNU in Trondheim, from 1980. He has held several positions in the oil industry, most recently as general manager of PGS Reservoir. Roar Tessem has mainly worked with the Norwegian shelf, but also has international experience.
Per Gustav Granholm has a Master of Science in Geophysics from the University of Oslo. Per-Gustav Granholm has 20 years of experience from inter alia seismic interpretation and prospect evaluation, mainly on the Norwegian shelf.
Since DNO's re-entry into the Norwegian shelf in 2000, the company has had a staff of 20 - 25 in Norway, about half of whom have focused on the Norwegian shelf. After the above-mentioned restructuring, the company's staff in Norway comprises 18 persons, of whom nine are allocated to the Norwegian shelf.
The result of the restructuring of the company's organisation in Norway and the ongoing recruitment of new professionals will strengthen DNO's capacity and expertise in Norway. Combined with the experience gained over the last eight years, this forms a good starting point for new assignments as operator or active participant in all phases of upstream oil and gas activity, both on the Norwegian shelf and internationally.
The company's financial position has been significantly strengthened as a result of the Lundin transaction. Moreover, DNO recently took out a NOK 400 million bond loan in Norway, which will mainly be used for new investment on the Norwegian shelf.
All in all this makes DNO well positioned to continue its overall strategy of creating long-term value for its shareholders.