STAVANGER, Norway, Oct. 1 (UPI) -- German energy company Wintershall said Tuesday it took over operations at the Brage oil field off Norway, making it a major producer in the region.
Wintershall said Tuesday it took over at the Brage oil field on the Norwegian Continental Shelf where its Norwegian counterpart, Statoil, left off.
"We are taking over an excellent operation that Statoil has operated for 20 years," Wintershall board member Martin Bachmann said in a statement. "Taking over the Brage operatorship is a key element in our growth strategy."
The German company said it set a production goal of 50,000 barrels of oil per day from the Brage field.
Wintershall, a subsidiary of German chemical company BASF, swapped assets with Statoil in July.
"The asset swap thus turned Wintershall into a major producer on the Norwegian Continental Shelf," the company said in a statement.
Wintershall said last year it produced 144 million barrels of oil equivalent. That's 27 percent more than in 2011 and a record for a company with a 100-year history, it said.
