OMV wades into Norwegian waters

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VIENNA, Oct. 17 (UPI) -- Austrian energy company OMV said an acquisition of a stake in a field off the coast of Norway is indicative of the country's natural resource potential.

OMV announced it acquired a 20 percent stake in the so-called Edvard Grieg field from RWE Dea for about $322 million.

OMV, through the acquisition, gains access to reserves in excess of 38 million barrels of oil equivalent. The company said several discoveries have been made near Edvard Grieg, including one of the largest in the region at the Johan Sverdrup field.

"I'm glad to see that Norway is becoming a core country in our exploration and production portfolio," said Jaap Huijskes, and exploration and production director for OMV, in a statement.

RWE said it remains committed to Norway as an operator of six licenses. The deal is subject to final approval by the Norwegian government.

Norway is the largest oil producer in Europe and the second-largest exporter of natural gas after Russia. Oil production is expected to reach 1.7 million barrels per day by the end of the year. Gas production should reach 3.7 trillion cubic feet.