Sveen News

Norway's Statoil will soon start drilling this season's most promising Arctic prospect, Korpfjell, after several disappointing wells in the Barents Sea, the company said on Monday. The majority state-owned company has stepped up drilling in the Barents Sea this year as the government seeks to attract more explorers to its Arctic waters to make up for declining North Sea output. The Norwegian Petroleum Directorate said on Monday Statoil's latest well in the Barents Sea, Gemini North, had found only minor volumes of gas and oil.

A new niche bank for the shipping and offshore sector opened its doors for business on December 20, 2016.   Serving the global maritime markets from its main office in Oslo, Maritime & Merchant Bank ASA (M&M) will provide secured lending in the form of first priority terms loans.   “The sustained tight credit market for the maritime sector has left many companies owners seeking financing with few alternatives,” said M&M CEO, Halvor Sveen. “We believe M&M can fill a need for a specialized bank with experience in shipping and offshore that is able to contribute to good solutions for our customers.”

Development of field could cost up to $32.5 bln; cost estimate higher than analyst forecasts. Sverdrup scheduled to start up in late 2019. Statoil's giant Johan Sverdrup oil field could cost as much as $32.5 billion, the company said in its first full estimate of the price tag to develop Norway's most expensive ever industrial project. Discovered in 2010, Sverdup is the biggest North Sea find in decades, reinvigorating Norway's oil sector where production has been declining for more than a decade. At maximum, its production would equal nearly half of Norway's current oil output. The hefty cost topped what analysts had expected, leading them to slightly downgrade the value of the project.

Norwegian Arctic discovery could be game changer; Lundin Petroleum shares rise 7 percent. Noreco, Det Norske shares also rise on news. Swedish oil firm Lundin Petroleum has made a big oil and gas discovery in the Norwegian Arctic, sending its shares more than 7 percent higher and raising hopes that more oil could be found in the remote region. Lundin Petroleum's find in the Alta prospect contains between 125 and 400 million barrels of oil equivalent, including 85 to 310 million barrels of oil, near Statoil's Snoehvit field and Lundin's own Gohta find, the firm said in a statement on Tuesday. The discovery raises hopes that more oil could be found in a region where only a handful of oil fields have been discovered after several decades, and none have started production.

Maritime & Merchant AS (M&M) (TBR Maritime & Merchant Bank ASA) has received regulatory approval to operate a private bank in Norway, underpinning the firm’s strategy to become a niche financial institution dedicated to meeting the funding needs of owners active in the shipping and offshore industries, worldwide. “We are currently preparing for a capital issue with a target of $300-350 million (USD) in equity to fund operations. We have selected Pareto Securities AS and DNB Markets as Joint Lead Managers and Bookrunners, with Cleaves Securities to act as Financial Advisor.

An experienced team of shipping, offshore and finance professionals are pleased to announce the intention to establish Maritime & Merchant Bank (M&M) a niche financial institution dedicated to meeting the funding needs of owners active in the shipping and offshore industries, worldwide. The newly formed project company, Maritime & Merchant AS (M&M AS), will file a banking license application on behalf of M&M during the autumn of 2013. The main sponsoring shareholders of M&M AS are currently Arne Blystad…

A team of Norway-based shipping, offshore and finance professionals intend to establish Maritime & Merchant Bank (“M&M’’) a niche financial institution dedicated to meeting the funding needs of owners active in the shipping and offshore industries, worldwide. The newly formed project company, Maritime & Merchant AS (M&M AS), will file a banking license application on behalf of M&M during the autumn of 2013. The main sponsoring shareholders of M&M AS are currently Arne Blystad…