Italian oil major Eni SpA announced Dec. 12 that subsidiary Eni Norge AS completed the previously announced merger with Point Resources AS to form a Norway-based exploration and production company called Vår Energi AS.

Vår Energi employs 800 workers, and its portfolio includes 17 oil and gas fields spanning from the Barents Sea to the North Sea. With reserves of more than 1,250 million barrels of oil equivalent, the company estimates 2018 production at 170,000 boe/d. Vår Energi expects production from its existing fields to reach 250,000 boe/d by 2023.

Eni said the creation of the firm is a "major step" to strengthen its upstream presence in developed countries.

The Italian oil major owns a 69.6% stake in Vår Energi; the remaining 30.4% will be held by private equity investor HitecVision AS. The merger's completion follows closing conditions having been met, including the securing of US$3 billion in financing that is nonrecourse to the deal's sponsors.