Okea Eyes Listing by Mid-2019

Norwegian oil company Okea AS said on Tuesday it was planning an initial public offering by mid-2019, in a bid to raise funds to finance further expansions.

The company, which is partly owned by Thailand's Bangchak Corporation and private equity firm Seacrest Capital, had previously said the IPO was expected some time in 2019.

The company produced around 19,500 barrels of oil equivalents per day (boed) in the first quarter of 2019, compared with just 369 boed in the year-ago period, boosted by an acquisition, it said in a statement on Tuesday.

Okea was co-founded by former Norwegian Oil Minister Ola Borten Moe in 2015 and last year it bought stakes in two Norwegian fields from Shell. 

(Reporting by Terje Solsvik; Editing by Rashmi Aich)