The Concession in 1962
In 1962, A.P. Møller, Aktieselskabet Dampskibsselskabet Svendborg (The Steamship Company Svendborg) and Dampskibsselskabet af 1912, Aktieselskab (The Steamship Company of 1912) were awarded the concession for exploration and extraction of raw materials in the Danish underground.
As it has been described in various places, Mærsk Mc-Kinney Møller was not entirely positive about the involvement in oil exploration in Denmark. At the time when the idea came about and the negotiations took place, Mærsk Mc-Kinney Møller was the day-to-day manager of the A.P. Moller Group. He himself felt that the “cup was full” – there was little room for new activities.
However, when King Frederik IX had signed the concession, there was no doubt and Mærsk Mc-Kinney Møller was to take a key role in the development of the Danish oil and gas production.
Exploration and Production
After 1963, focus turned to the North Sea, in which the delimitation between country territories was fixed and Dansk Undergrunds Consortium (DUC) made its first discovery. Production was initiated in the Dan-field in the summer of 1972 and the first Danish oil was brought ashore on the motor tanker MARIE MÆRSK.
During 1973-1985, when the oil price was at a high level, DUC made far-reaching expansions of the production facilities in the Danish North Sea and entered into the first broad agreement on gas sales with the Danish state, which on the other hand forced through extensive changes in the concession granted to A.P. Møller. The first natural gas was delivered in 1984.