Sixteen new licenses for oil and gas exploration in the Danish sector of the North Sea have been granted under Denmark's 7th Licensing Round, pending parliament approval.
The move will see several new foreign operators enter the Danish sector. UK-based Exploration minnow Ardent Oil has been listed for the largest number of awards, followed by Germany's Wintershall. The list of those due to be awarded licenses is below.
"It is positive that there is still great interest in the Danish part of the North Sea, even though oil prices are currently low. The new investment in exploration will hopefully result in new commercial discoveries," says energy, power and thermal Minister Lars Christian Lilleholt.
The permits offer a six year exploration period with the right to 30-year extension for fields put into production.
The total work programs include two unconditional wells and up to 24 contingent wells.
The 7th Round was launched in 2014, but was delayed due to the implementation of the new EU Offshore Safety Directive.
Proposed license awards (operator listed):
Hansa says it was awarded licenses 7/16, covering 306.4sq km and 14/16. covering 284.8sq km.