OSLO (Reuters) - Norwegian oil and gas company Det norske oljeselskap ASA expects to increase oil production to 45,000 barrels per day in 2013 and said it may sell some assets to finance field development.

Though tiny in comparison with the majors, Det norske is second only to StatoilHydro on the Norwegian shelf in terms of the number of operatorships, 24, and has stakes in 46 licenses, many of which are still undeveloped prospects.
The company, which posted a 65 million crown ($12.03 million) operating loss for April-June on Tuesday, was created through a merger of the Norwegian assets of independent DNO with privately held Pertra.
Det norske’s prize possession is a 15 percent stake in the Goliat discovery in the Barents Sea, a field seen holding some 220 million barrels of oil equivalent and due on stream in 2013.
The company’s production fell in the second quarter to 1,980 bpd from 2,238 because of declining output from the Varg, Jotun, Glitne and Enoch fields.
Det norske said that it has a 1.5 billion crown revolving exploration finance facility and that it would consider selling some assets to fund growth.
“The company is considering asset sales and bank loans or bonds to strengthen its balance sheet to fund future field development projects,” Det norske said in a statement.
Det norske said it was one of 11 approved Barents Sea operators for the 20th licensing round and that it has “entered into a cooperation with a large international oil company” for the upcoming round.
Det norske shares were untraded on Tuesday after closing at at 43.50 crowns on Monday, valuing the company at around $500 million.