Norse Energy

On July 5, Norse Energy Corp will hold what they call an “Extraordinary General Meeting” (EGM) for shareholders in Oslo, Norway. Norse Energy’s CEO Mark Dice will present to shareholders using the PowerPoint embedded below. MDN has included a rundown of what’s in the slides.

For better or worse, Norse has most of its investments in leases in New York State, and the now four-year long delay in adopting new drilling rules, called the SGEIS, has strained the company’s resources. They’ve refinanced debt, sold off assets, taken on investors and have done whatever they can to “hang in there” until drilling finally begins in New York. The slides in the presentation show just how key New York’s decision is to Norse’s future.

Read More “Norse Energy Special Shareholder Appeal – Sneak Preview”

You have to admire Norse Energy Corp. (subsidiary of the larger Norwegian company of the same name). They rolled the dice by leasing most of their acreage for shale gas drilling in New York State, thinking there was no way it would take this long (now four years) for New York to begin high volume hydraulic fracturing. But it has taken this long, and Norse has tried to stay alive by selling off various assets, reducing staff, restructuring debt and in general doing whatever it takes to “hang in there.”

Just a few weeks ago Norse announced they were shuttering their Buffalo office and heading back to Houston (see this MDN story).

But the plucky Norse, not ready to throw in the towel quite yet, found encouragement in yesterday’s leaked trial balloon announcement that Gov. Andrew Cuomo may begin to allow very limited fracking soon (see this MDN story).

Read More “Norse Energy: The Little Driller that Could”

For more than year, MDN has periodically reported on Norse Energy as they have struggled to hold on, waiting for New York State to finally start issuing horizontal hydraulic fracturing drilling permits (see MDN’s coverage here). Norse’s strategy has been to roll the dice that New York will allow shale gas drilling. Drilling is always risky, but betting the company on New York politicians is truly a Las Vegas kind of gamble.

In order to keep going, Norse has sold off various assets over the past year. According to their first quarter 2012 update (see below), they at least have enough money in the bank to keep their U.S. operations going through the third quarter of this year. And they still have a controlling interest in 135,000 acres in New York, much of it in the Marcellus and Utica Shale play areas, should New York finally get off the dime. But in a sign that they may be giving up on the Empire State, Norse is shutting down it’s New York office and heading back to Houston.

Read More “Norse Energy Shutting Down NY Office, Moving to Houston”

Norwegian driller Norse Energy’s U.S. subsidiary, with significant acreage in upstate New York, continues to sell off bits and pieces of its New York operation. Norse’s strategy has been to stay alive long enough for New York to adopt new drilling regulations and lift the de facto moratorium on Marcellus and Utica Shale drilling in the state. Norse’s latest sale is to a former Norse CEO.

From the Norse press release:

Read More “Norse Energy Sells Off Another Piece of the Company”

Norse Energy, with leased acreage in both the Marcellus and Utica Shales in New York State, has been fighting to keep the company afloat until New York finally allows hydraulic fracturing and they can take advantage of their leaseholds. But to keep holding on, they’ve sold off bits and pieces of their leaseholds, as well as bits and pieces of the company. A few weeks ago they converted $3.5 million of bonds (or debt) into stock (or ownership) of the company (see this MDN story).

Yesterday, we learned they’ve sold off another $12.5 million of the company in another bonds for stock swap deal. And now they’re making the same offer to all of their bondholders: Let’s make a deal—soon.

Read More “Norse Energy Continues Selling Pieces of the Company”

Norse Energy, with substantial leases in New York State, clings to the hope that New York will soon allow shale gas drilling. In the meantime, they continue to try and hold on. Last week they sold some of their NY acreage along with a slice of the royalty rights on acreage they retain for $26.7 million (see this MDN story). Today we learn that Norse is converting $3.5 million worth of debt they owe into equity. That is, they’ve sold off another slice of the company by swapping bonds for stocks.

Read More “Norse Energy Converts $3.5M in Bonds into Stock Ownership”

Norse Energy’s big gamble that New York would allow shale gas drilling sooner than now has not paid off and they are throwing in the towel, attempting to find a buyer for their 130,000-acre leasehold in the state.

Read More “Norse Energy Fire Sale of 130K Acres in NY”

Norwegian driller Norse Energy Corp. recently meet with New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) Commissioner Joe Martens, and they were encouraged by the meeting, saying that Martens asserted his confidence in the DEC to complete plans to release its Supplemental Generic Environmental Impact Statement on horizontal hydraulic fracturing in the Marcellus Shale this summer.

Norse Energy has good reason to care what happens in New York—they have a significant land position of 180,000 net acres in the state. Norse Energy also owns a natural gas marketing business and operates pipeline systems in New York and Pennsylvania for gathering and transmission of natural gas.

Read More “Norse Energy Optimistic that Drilling in New York State Will Soon Begin After Meeting with DEC Sec. Martens”