Page 8 - Danish Offshore Industry 2019

By Hans Christian Dahlerup Koch
WHAT ON EARTH

HAPPENED

IN THE DANISH SECTOR?

2018 was a year turning almost everything upside
down in the Danish sector. Old operators disap-
peared, and new ones replaced them. Projects like

Tyra Future indicating faith in the future of oil and

gas competed with "green" projects calling for a
future based on wind power

To most observers the Danish Sector of the North Sea sortium was changed, too, as Norwegian Noreco bought
must have appeared like something of a confused mess Shell's part of its shares, so from now the DUC consists of
as some bailed out and new ones joined in, but now the Norwegian Noreco – 36.8%, French Total 431.2%, Danish
situation has settled to such a degree that a new reality North Sea Fund 20% and Total has taken over from
has emerged and it is possible to find out who are the Maersk Oil as its operator.
new operators and who have withdrawn from their
former activities. EVERYBODY AWAITING
The company, Danish Oil and Natural Gas, DONG, many
Since the very birth of the Danish oil and gas industry, years ago was established by the Danish Government
Danish A.P. Moller was the solid rock within the Danish when the oil started flowing in earnest from the North
sector, as Mr. Moller, himself, was awarded the conces- Sea. The purpose of the company was to set up a kind
sion by the Danish government, as he considered it a of counter balance to DUC which at that time embraced
national obligation to ensure Danish ownership of the three American and one Danish company.
resources which might possibly be discovered in the
Danish sector. DONG grew and developed more or less as planned, but
it gradually turned its interest – perhaps to some degree
To gather the necessary experience A.P. Moller joined inspired by the Danish Government's desire to promote
hands with a number of experienced foreign oil com- the "green" transformation – towards sustainable en-
panies to establish the DUC, Danish Underground Con- ergy like offshore wind power, and last year it changed
sortium, which then started up exploring for – and later its name to Ørsted to commemorate a famous Danish
producing – oil and gas. Even if the DUC-member, Shell, scientist and get rid of the words oil and gas being part
had the majority of the shares, the company Maersk Oil of its former name – and sold its offshore activities to
was established as the operator and soon DUC was domi- the Swiss-owned company, INEOS. So, now DONG has
nating the Danish oil & gas industry. left the oil & gas industry and is totally engaged in the
so-called "green" energy.
And then, as a part of the recent re-structuring of the
huge A.P. Moller-Maersk conglomerate the operator of INEOS started up their activities by calling a more or less
its numerous oil and gas fields – Maersk Oil – was sold full stop to all their newly bought assets in the Danish
to French Total. Included in the package bought by Total sector apparently in order to get a clear view of what
was the elderly infrastructure hub, Tyra, which within the they had acquired and to decide on the right way of get-
next few years will undergo a total – and costly – re-con- ting the best possible out of their new role in the Danish
struction making it the major pivotal center of most of part of the North Sea. So Danish DONG was replaced
the pipelines supplying Denmark with part of its need by Swiss INEOS, and everybody is now eagerly awaiting
for oil and – till at least 2035 – all the gas required for their next steps when starting up again.
domestic use.
Even an unexpected merger took place in the Danish
With Maersk Oil's withdrawal Danish Underground Con- sector when Dutch Wintershall and German Deutsche

6 / WHAT ON EARTH HAPPENED IN THE DANISH SECTOR?