DONG Energy divests its oil and gas business in favour of renewables

Denmark’s largest power producer, Dong Energy, agreed to sell its complete upstream oil and gas interests to global petrochemical manufacturer Ineos for $1.05 billion plus contingent payments, following an announcement of its intention to withdraw from the oil and gas business last November.

DONG, which stands for ‘Danish Oil and Natural Gas’ has been gradually turning their back on oil, gas and coal to become a champion of green energy. Having constructed a quarter of global capacity of offshore wind, they are already one of the leaders in the field.

Henrik Poulsen, CEO of DONG Energy, said:
“Since the decision in 2016 to divest our upstream oil and gas business, we’ve actively worked to get the best transaction by selling the business as a whole, getting a good and fair price for it and ensuring the optimal conditions for the long-term development of the oil and gas business. With the agreement with INEOS we’ve obtained just that. (…)  The transaction completes the transformation of DONG Energy into a leading, pure play renewables company,” Henrik Poulsen said.

INEOS is satisfied with their end of the deal, becoming one of the top 10 extractors in the North Sea.

Jim Ratcliffe, INEOS chairman says “DONG Energy’s Oil & Gas Business is a natural fit for INEOS as we continue to expand our Upstream interests. This business is very important to us at this stage of our growth plans and we are delighted with the expertise that comes with it. We have been successful in our petro-chemical businesses, focussing on operating our assets safely, efficiently and reliably and we intend to do the same with our oil & gas assets. We are keen on further growth and already see lots of opportunity within this impressive portfolio when it transfers to INEOS”.

The acquisition and transfer of ownership is targeted to be completed by Q3 2017.