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Norway’s oil and gas company OKEA has struck a deal with Japex Norge, a Norwegian subsidiary of Japan Petroleum Exploration (JAPEX), to divest its interest in an offshore gas/condensate discovery on the Norwegian Continental Shelf (NCS).
OKEA has entered into a sale and purchase agreement (SPA) with Japex Norge to dispose of a 20% working interest in PL1119, containing the Mistral discovery, for a fixed consideration of $30 million, with the effective transaction date being January 1, 2026.
The Norwegian player claims that a contingent consideration ensures it retains an upside given a commercial Mistral Nord discovery. This transaction is subject to customary governmental approvals.
While underlining that PL1119 was an original OKEA idea with a missed discovery in the license suspected in a prolific legacy area of the Southern Norwegian Sea, the firm explained that Mistral became part of its portfolio since APA 2018.
The Equinor-operated Mistral Sør was discovered in Q1 2025 with recoverable resources of 38 million barrels of oil equivalent (mmboe) (P50 estimate). The additional exploration prospect, Mistral Nord, is planned to be drilled in the first quarter of 2027.
Following the divestment of OKEA’s stake, the licence partners will be Equinor Energy (operator, 60% WI), Inpex Idemitsu Norge (20% WI), and Japex Norge (20% WI).
Since this discovery is located outside the company’s core areas, the divestment of PL1119 is expected to strengthen its balance sheet and maintain focus on core assets and high-grading the portfolio.
As a post-tax consideration, the positive net profit after tax impact of the transaction is estimated to be $25 million. The closing of the transaction is expected by the end of Q3 2026.
The sale of its interest in this discovery comes less than a month after OKEA announced an increase in the recoverable resource estimates from discoveries at an oil field in the Norwegian North Sea.