Norway Offers 61 Offshore Licenses to 30 Oil Firms

Norway's energy ministry on Tuesday offered 61 production licenses on the Norwegian continental shelf in the Award in Pre-Defined Areas 2020 (APA 2020) round to 31 oil companies.

Minister of Petroleum and Energy, Tina Bru said the companies have shown great interest in gaining access to new exploration acreage, illustrating the industry's confidence in continued profitability from exploration on the Norwegian continental shelf. This is good news for the Norwegian state as resource owner, says 

The 61 production licenses are located in the North Sea (34), the Norwegian Sea (24) and the Barents Sea (3). 

According to the ministry, 30 different oil companies, ranging from large international companies to smaller domestic exploration companies, have been offered ownership interests in one or more production licenses. 

Of these, 18 companies will be offered one or more operatorships. The licenses are awarded with work-programme commitments or as additional areas to such licenses. 

Basic Pillar

Bru continued: "The licensing rounds constitute a basic pillar in our petroleum policy. The APA-rounds now include the majority of available exploration acreage on the Norwegian Continental Shelf (NCS). Exploration providing additional discoveries is vital in order to maintain a high level of activity, employment, and revenue over time from Norway's largest industry. I am impressed by how the industry has dealt with the challenges of 2020, also when it comes to the applications for new acreage. I now eagerly await the commencement of activity and the resulting discoveries." 

The award of new exploration acreage in Norway takes place in two equal licensing rounds. The numbered rounds take place in the least known exploration areas, which for all practical purposes now means remaining parts of the deep-water areas in the Norwegian Sea and parts of the Barents Sea. Acreage in the best-known exploration areas is awarded in the annual APA-rounds. 

As a consequence of the fact that exploration has been going on for decades, the majority of the North Sea, large parts of the Norwegian Sea and an increasing area in the Barents Sea is now included in the APA-rounds. 

Offer of licenses to 30 licensees:

(Number of licenses /operatorships)

Aker BP (10/8)

AS Norske Shell (1/1)

Chrysaor (6/3)

Concedo (1/0)

ConocoPhillips (4/3)

DNO (10/4)

Edison (2/0)

Equinor (17/10)

INEOS (4/1)

Inpex (2/1)

Kufpec (1/0)

Lime (4/0)

Lotos (3/0)

Lundin (19/7)

MOL (1/1)

M Vest (2/0)

Neptune (6/3)

OKEA (6/4)

OMV (3/3)

One Dyas (6/0)

Pandion (5/0)

Petrolia NOCO (3/1)

PGNiG (4/0)

Source (4/0)

Spirit (3/0)

Sval (5/1)

Total (3/0)

Vår Energi (10/5)

Wellesley (2/1)

Wintershall DEA (16/4)