We are Norway's oldest oil and gas company. Our long history has taken us from the North Sea to the Middle East and back again. The Company was founded in 1971 by a group of young, adventurous shipowners and industrial leaders, just as Norway's oil adventure was taking off. Having a broad shareholder base from the start, DNO was the first oil company to list on the Oslo Stock Exchange in 1981.
Since the very beginning, DNO has continued to attract the type of people who are willing to take chances, venturing into new activities and new geographic areas, both onshore and offshore. DNO has been an oil and gas explorer with a global mindset from the start.
DNO kicked off its activities in the Middle East with its entry into Yemen in 1998. In 2004, we were the first international oil company to enter the Kurdistan region of Iraq, at a time when the region's oil industry was virtually non-existent. Having produced more than 500 million barrels from its flagship Tawke license in Kurdistan, the Company remains the leading international operator in the region.
Since re-entering the North Sea in 2017, DNO has been one of the most active and successful explorers on the Norwegian Continental Shelf. In 2025, the North Sea business was transformed by the acquisition of Sval Energi AS, which added material production to complement DNO's already strong exploration and development portfolio.
In West Africa, DNO continues to hold indirect interests in four producing gas fields offshore Côte d'Ivoire.