Norway-based oil company Noreco will propose Tuesday a merger with compatriot Det norske Oljeselskap, or “Detnorske”, hoping to hurry value out of two “fledgling” by forging a new business worth four billion kroner ($570 million).

Noreco’s American chief exec — Scott Kerr, former of ConocoPhillips’s Norway boss — will ask shareholders in Detnorske to consider the deal, just as they get used to new leadership brought in by a major shareholder concerned about the company’s direction and stock price.

Noreco, of Stavanger, has been focused of late on its Danish production. Kerr will propose a “share-for-share” merger that’ll leave Detnorske with 52.5 percent ownership in a combined company.

Detnorske is the largest Norwegian oil company and a combination would produce the largest independent E&P company on Oslo Børs. A new company would wield 18 000 barrels of oil equivalents per day from 10 fields.

Future value is spied in 25 discoveries, and like Kerr, leadership in both companies is vastly experienced.

Noreco proposes its own chief exec, presumably Kerr, with Detnorske picking a chief operating officer.

Tags: Det norske oljeselskap, Noreco