Norway has received a large number of applications from energy companies for offshore oil and gas exploration blocks in this year’s licensing round, which had a heavy emphasis on the Barents Sea.
The Ministry of Petroleum & Energy launched in early May the Awards in Predefined Areas (APA) licensing round with a total of 92 blocks, 78 of which were in the Barents Sea.
The ministry said today that 25 companies had made applications on the deadline day of 23 August, and awards are planned at the beginning of 2024.
Upstream is waiting on the ministry to clarify how many of the 92 blocks received offers, and the take-up rate in the Barents. The ministry said the total number of applications is confidential.
“We have received a large number of applications from the active companies on the Norwegian Continental Shelf to look for new petroleum resources in the announced areas,” said Petroleum & Energy Minister Terje Aasland.
“Without exploration and new discoveries, we will neither be able to maintain the production of oil and gas over time nor further develop the petroleum sector and all the jobs in the industry.”
“That the oil companies are showing such great interest in the awarding of new extraction permits and exploration (on the Norwegian continental shelf) is therefore very good.”
The companies that applied all have existing operations in Norway: Aker BP, Concedo, ConocoPhillips, DNO, Equinor, Harbour Energy, Inpex, Kufpec, Lime Petroleum, Longboat Japex, M Vest Energy, Neptune Energy, OKEA, OMV, Pandion Energy, Petrolia, PGNiG Upstream, Repsol, Shell, Source Energy, Sval Energi, TotalEnergies, Vaar Energi, Wellesley Petroleum and Wintershall Dea.
The Norwegian Petroleum Directorate (NPD) was happy with the response.
“It’s gratifying to note the continuing significant interest in investigating new exploration acreage among almost all active companies on the Norwegian contintental shelf, and that we see an increased interest in the Barents Sea this year,” said Kalmar Ildstad, the NPD’s director of licence management.
The NPD is now beginning the evaluation of the applications, with a focus on geological understanding and plans for exploring the areas.
Source: https://www.upstreamonline.com/