Norway has offered ownership interests in 57 new oil and gas production licenses to 19 companies in its latest annual awards in pre-defined areas (APA) licensing round.
Of the 57 licenses, 31 are located in the North Sea, 21 in the Norwegian Sea and five in the Barents Sea. Twenty of the licenses represent additional acreage linked to existing production licenses.
Ownership interests or operatorships were offered to Aker BP, Concedo, ConocoPhillips Skandinavia, DNO Norge, Equinor, Harbour Energy Norge, INPEX Idemitsu Norge, Japex Norge, Lime Petroleum, OKEA, OMV (Norge), Orlen Upstream Norway, Pandion Energy Norge, Petrolia NOCO, Repsol, Source Energy, TotalEnergies EP Norge, Vår Energi and Wellesley Petroleum.
Equinor was offered interests in 35 licenses and operatorship in 17, while Aker BP was offered interests in 22 licenses and operatorship in 12. DNO Norge was awarded stakes in 17 licenses, followed by Vår Energi with interests in 14 licenses.
Aker BP said the awards strengthened its position as one of the most active exploration companies on the Norwegian continental shelf.
“We are pleased with the outcome of this year’s APA round. The awards support our long-term growth ambitions on the Norwegian Continental Shelf and provide a solid basis for pursuing a focused and value-driven exploration strategy,” said Petter Sørhaug, senior vice president for exploration and reservoir development at Aker BP.
All petroleum licensing rounds are conducted within the framework set by the Norwegian parliament, with the APA round focusing on mature areas with established infrastructure. The APA area covers most of the opened acreage on the continental shelf and is expanded annually based on petroleum assessments.
Each license carries a binding work program to ensure maturation of the acreage or its relinquishment to the state if exploration proves unsuccessful.
"This year's awards show that the companies still see the potential for profitable exploration in mature areas. Resources proven near established installations will be crucial to ensure high value creation and effective utilization of infrastructure moving forward,” said Kalmar Ildstad, Director of regulations, license and area management at the Norwegian Offshore Directorate.