The Norwegian Ministry of Energy has offered 37 bocks in the Barents Sea and the Norwegian Sea as part of its annual licensing round for predefined areas (APA), which give oil companies the opportunity to gain access to attractive acreage in the mature areas of the Norwegian shelf.
After more than 50 years of exploration activity, the APA rounds currently cover most of the area that has been opened and is available on the Norwegian continental shelf. The APA rounds are important for providing oil companies with attractive areas on the continental shelf.
In connection with APA 2024, the APA acreage is expanded with 37 blocks or parts of blocks. Three of the additional blocks are in the northwest of the Norwegian Sea and 34 blocks are in the east of the Barents Sea.
The deadline to apply for APA 2024 is September 3, 2024. The aim is to award the new production licenses for the newly announces areas in the beginning of 2025.
"We need further exploration to make new discoveries that in turn pave the way for investments to maintain production. This is important to safeguard jobs, income for the community and Europe's energy security. Access to new, attractive acreage through the APA system is a pillar of the government's petroleum policy," said Terje Aasland, Norway’s Minister of Energy Terje Aasland.
The area now included in the APA acreage was opened before 1994. The area contains acreage with known plays and exploration history, including previous exploration wells, relinquished acreage and acreage geographically located between awarded and relinquished acreage.
Furthermore, acreage bordering on existing predefined acreage is included. Parts of the area are included in order to be able to prove time-critical resources that can be linked to existing and planned infrastructure.