&ldquo Lime Petroleum AS has been pre-qualified as an operator on the Norwegian Continental Shelf by the Norwegian Ministry of Petroleum and Energy on March 28 March,&rdquo reads a March 30 press release.

Lime is a 91.65% subsidiary of Rex that was established in 2012 in Oslo. It was pre-qualified as a partner company in February 2013. The organisation deals with oil and gas exploration both from Norway and internationally.

Lars Hü bert, chief executive officer of Lime, says: &ldquo The pre-qualification as operator marks an important milestone for Lime, as it is a confirmation that Lime has built a competent organisation for all major functional areas. We have grown from strength to strength over the years, from a pure oil and gas exploration company with partner status, to one with production assets, and now with operator pre-qualification. We aim to expand on this trust and will continue to build a stronger presence on the NCS, actively seeking new opportunities to enhance our asset portfolio. Lime now also looks forward to using this operator status for further value creation.&rdquo

Shares in Rex International closed 0.3 cents higher, or 2.05% up, at 15 cents on March 30.