BUZZ-Pareto Securities predicts more mergers in Norway's oil industry

** Pareto Securities analyst Tom Erik Kristiansen made the following statements at the start of the second day of the firm's oil conference in Oslo on Thursday:

** "We think more companies are likely to follow BP by merging into strategic partnerships on the Norwegian Continental Shelf (NCS) or be potential sellers of their Norwegian portfolios, which for some of them could become non-core over the coming years."

** "We have already seen some of the large utility companies selling large parts of their portfolios or completely exiting the NCS. We expect this group to continue to be a net seller."

** "At the same time we see a limited number of likely buyers on the NCS and that the transactions done so far, like BP's sale to Detnor and Dong Energy (LSE: 0RHE.L - news) 's sale to Faroe Petroleum (LSE: FPM.L - news) , being done at discounts to our valuations of 50 percent or even more."

** "We think this market balance will offer great acquisition opportunities over the next year and highlight Det norske as one of our top picks."