More to Denmark than meets the eye

The country’s approach to its oil and gas sector differs from the perception of outside observers, suggests producer Noreco

A c.$640mn historic tax credit may have been a key factor in the rebirth of Norwegian independent Noreco as an active oil and gas firm on the Danish continental shelf. But, CEO Euan Shirlaw tells Petroleum Economist, there is considerably more potential—in a country that takes a more nuanced attitude to its hydrocarbons than one might think—than simply monetising a tax position. After restructuring in 2015-16 and selling its upstream assets, most of them to an entity that became Norway’s Aker BP, Noreco—listed in Oslo as far back as a 2007 IPO by original private equity backer Hitec Vision—made an active return to the fray by agreeing to buy Shell’s Danish assets in 2018. The deal gave it a