Denmark’s Energy Agency (DEA) is due to launch its seventh licensing round for oil and gas exploration and production licenses in the Danish North Sea before the end of 2013, according to International Law Office.
Image: DONG Energy's Siri platform, in the Danish North Sea.
The licensing round will the areas to the west of 6°15' east longitude. The DEA was also considering a separate licensing round of permits for injection of CO2 (to enhance oil recovery) in existing oil fields in the same area.
An invitation and terms is expected to be published before the end of 2013, with the deadline for submission of tenders likely to be April or May 2014, says International Law Office, a company which provides analysis to law firms.
The final award of licenses could then take place in early Autumn 2014. However, there is still considerable uncertainty as to the final timeline, since the call for tenders must be presented to and considered by the Parliamentary Committee for Climate, Energy and Building before it can be launched, said International Law Company.
Meanwhile, Nordic Energy PLC has said its recently acquired License 1/13 in the Danish North Sea could contain “multiple company-making structures”.
The firm acquired 80% interest in the license in September. Nordic says the license is the largest exploration and production license in the Danish North Sea, covering 3600 sq km.
The license had two wells drilled on it in the 1970s. Nordic is now in the process of evaluating the prospectivity of the license based on new data, with results due to be released in Q1 2014.
Nordic Energy CEO Rudolf Kleiber said: “In addition to being the largest in the Danish North Sea, the directors’ believe license 1/13 has potentially multiple company-making structures which the company is looking to systematically de-risk and prove up.”
There are currently 19 producing fields of varying size in the Danish part of the North Sea, with three operators responsible for production from the fields. A total of 11 companies participate in production.
The first offshore oil exploration well was drilled in 1966, under the AP Møller Sole Concession, resulting in the first oil discovery in the North Sea.
In 1983, the first competitive licensing rounds were introduced, with a total of 15 licenses awarded to seven groups, comprising 23 companies. The second round followed in 1984, the third round in 1989, the fourth round in 1995, and the fifth round in 1998. Under the sixth round in 2006, 14 licenses were issued.
Exploration and appraisal drilling during the first six rounds has resulted in oil and gas reserves of between 0.75 billion and 1 billion boe being found, (excluding the AP Møller Sole Concession), says International Law Office.
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