INTERVIEW-Norwegian billionaire seeks riches offshore Ghana

By Wojciech Moskwa

OSLO, Nov 6 (Reuters) - Aker ASA , the investment vehicle of Norwegian billionaire Kjell Inge Roekke, has won its first oil and gas exploration licence in its own name and aims to develop the block offshore Ghana using its oilfield services firms.

Norway's Aker (AKER.OL: Quote, Profile, Research) said on Thursday it had been awarded the exploration block in a "promising province", where it pledged to carry out seismic surveys and drill a well in 2011.

Aker is best known as a holding company for firms, including engineering powerhouse Aker Solutions (AKSO.OL: Quote, Profile, Research), that provide services to oil and gas companies. But Roekke has also dreamt of becoming an oil producer himself.

"We are traditionally known for offshore engineering and services but are gradually adding the licence-holder element -- and the Ghana acreage builds on that strategic move," Geir Arne Drangeid, executive vice president of Aker ASA, told Reuters.

Aker owns 57.7 percent of Aker Exploration AKX.OL, which holds licences off Norway and hopes to use the holding company's capabilities to secure competitive advantage.

Roekke's business model goes against a trend in the oil industry for producers to sell off service units and hire contractors for specific jobs.

Aker said the Ghana acreage, located near the Jubilee discovery in the Gulf of Guinea, will "generate exciting opportunities for several Aker companies."

"It's too early to be very specific," Drangeid said. "But if and when we discover hydrocarbons (oil and gas) and the project comes to the development stage we have the companies that can be involved throughout the field's life cycle," he added.