Norwegian company Aker BP posts production gains

April 12 (UPI) -- Aker BP, a merger of Norwegian energy companies and a national subsidiary of BP, said Wednesday its first quarter production was up nearly 15 percent.

The company reported first quarter production of 145.3 million barrels of oil equivalent, an increase of 14.8 percent from the previous quarter. Most of the company's output came from the Alvheim license area, which draws oil using a floating production facility from four fields in the greater region.

All told, production from Alvheim was 64.4 million barrels of oil equivalent for the first quarter, a gain of nearly 20 percent.

The Norwegian government confirmed an Aker BP discovery in December near the Frigg field in the North Sea at between 25 million and 75 million barrels of recoverable oil equivalents. In January, the company boasted that its Valhall and Hod complex in the North Sea passed a production milestone of 1 billion barrels of product, far more than expected and well ahead of schedule.

Norway is one of the top oil and natural gas exporters to the European market, apart from Russia. Nearly all of the reserves produced offshore are designated for exports. Production figures from the Norwegian government for February show an average daily production of 2.1 million barrels of oil, natural gas liquids and condensate, an increase of nearly 2 percent from January.

The newly-minted company offered no comment when pressed on the latest production trends. In statements on earnings for the fourth quarter, CEO Karl Johnny Hersvik said the company was on a streak after paying out its first-ever dividend to shareholders in December.