The European Commission (EC) has approved the sale of the exploration and production activities of Danish energy group DONG Oil & Gas (DONG O&G, a subsidiary of DONG Energy) to INEOS for US$1.3bn. The merger has been cleared and the EC has stated that it does not lead to any competition concerns.
In May 2017, DONG Energy signed an agreement to divest its upstream oil and gas activities to INEOS for an unconditional payment of US$1.05bn (DKK 7bn, €941m) on a cash and debt free basis plus a contingent payment of US$150m (DKK 1bn, €134m).
With the approval of this acquisition, INEOS will expand its foothold in the North Sea and will enhance its production by around 100,000 boe/d in 2016, of which 70% come from Norway, 15% from Denmark and 15% from the United Kingdom (West of Shetland). DONG O&G's commercial and potential oil and gas reserves in these three countries are currently estimated at 570 Mboe.