Alta, 7 May 2013

Collaboration agreements were entered into by North Energy with technology company Rex Oil and Gas and seismic specialist TGS Nopec in the first quarter. The deals included credit facilities of up to NOK 300 million, purchase of Virtual Drilling (VD) services for prospect evaluation and access to substantial volumes of seismic data.

            "These agreements provide opportunities for firm wells and will ensure good applications in future licensing rounds," says chief executive Erik Karlstrøm.

Appraisal
Spudded on 29 April, the appraisal well on the Norvarg structure in the Barents Sea is due to be completed during the summer. This well will be paralleled by drilling on the Frode oil prospect in PL 299 in the North Sea, which lies close to existing infrastructure so that a discovery could be brought on stream quickly.

Business development
Several business development agreements were confirmed during the quarter, including a new partner composition and drilling decision for PL 510.
In addition come the signing of the sales agreement with Lime Petroleum Norway covering interests in six production licences, and the purchase and sale agreement with Spike Exploration for PLs 299 (Frode) and 590 (Mikkeli).

            "Active work of this kind allows us to adapt our licence portfolio and balance our risk," comments Karlstrøm.

Results
North Energy made a net loss of NOK 15.6 million for the first quarter. This result is largely attributable to exploration and licence costs. With an equity of NOK 394 million at 31 March, the company had net cash of NOK 237 million. That includes holdings of cash and cash equivalents as well as tax asset less net liabilities.

The report and presentation for the first quarter of 2013 are attached, and can also be accessed at www.northenergy.no.

North Energy will be presenting its first-quarter results at 09.00 today. The presentation will be given by Karlstrøm and chief financial officer Knut Sæberg at the Felix Course and Conference Centre, Bryggetorget 3, Oslo. The presentation can also be followed by webcast.

Further information from:
Erik Karlstrøm, CEO
Mob: +47 476 52 990 | E-mail: erik.karlstrom@northenergy.no

Knut Sæberg, CFO
Mob: +47 918 00 720 | E-mail: knut.saeberg@northenergy.no

Kristin Ingebrigtsen, vice president  of strategy and PA/PR
Mob: +47 926 05 601 E-mail: kristin.ingebrigtsen@northenergy.no

This information is mandatory under Section 5-12 of the Securities Trading Act.