Norwegian energy company Aker BP said its production levels could at least double within the next five years and dividends could grow by $100 million per year.

"We are well positioned for further growth," Aker BP CEO Karl Johnny Hersvik said in a statement Monday.

The company in December submitted formal development plans to Norwegian regulators for the Ærfugl, formerly called Snadd, Skogul and Valhall fields in national waters. The fields combine for 345 million barrels of oil equivalent and investments of approximately $1.8 billion.

Through a partnership with a regional subsidiary of U.S. explorer Hess Corp., which it said it would acquire, Aker BP said the Valhall field is a "giant oil field" in the southern Norwegian waters of the North Sea. Six production wells are planned for a field with 60 million barrels of oil equivalent and a startup date in fourth quarter 2019. The total investment is estimated at $664 million.

With its Polish partner, Aker BP said that, by first quarter 2020, it would be tapping into the Skogul field where reserves are estimated at 10 million barrels of oil equivalent and investments total $181 million.

All-told, the company said it produced around 160 million boe per day last year, of which 80 percent was oil. Production this year should be on par with 2017 and the company expects an average cost of around $12 per boe produced.

Using only its current portfolio, Aker BP by 2023 should be able to produce around 330 million boe per day. The CEO credited the Hess acquisition as a significant driver for production.

Aker BP's third quarter production was up more than 120 percent from last year

For investments, the company said it plans to spend about $1.3 billion, with exploration accounted for about a third of that.

The CEO said he foresees solid growth in cash in the coming year.

"We are proposing to increase dividends for 2018 to $450 million, and have a clear ambition to grow dividends further in the coming years by $100 million annually to 2021," he said.

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