Norway’s Ministry of Petroleum and Energy Ministry (NPD) received applications from 43 companies for it latest Awards in Predefined Areas (APA) 2015 Norwegian continental shelf licensing round.
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Image from Chevron. |
Interest for the Norwegian Sea is highest for the bid round; however, the NPD also saw an increase in the Barents. Technical assessment of the applications are underway, and the NPD is also evaluation the applicants’ geological concepts and exploration strategy for the areas.
APA 2015 has a total acreage of 127,608sq km up for bids, an increase from 2014’s 109,205sq km. APA areas have also increased by 35 blocks in the Norwegian Sea and 11 blocks in the Barents Sea.
The 23rd round application deadline is 2 December 2015. The Norwegian government aims to award new production licenses in 1H 2016.
"We are pleased to see that so many companies have confidence in the APA-areas," Sissel Eriksen, NPD director of exploration said. "Many companies continue to focus on the Norwegian Sea, where several oil and gas discoveries have been made in recent years. The number of applications has been fairly stable in past years, and we see that the APA scheme is important for maintaining the activity level and realising the value potential on the shelf."
Interest received for this year’s round almost matches last year’s 47 applicants, which was seen as being a strong level of interest, thanks to a number of discoveries made on the NCS in 2013.
Read more:
Norway launches latest exploration round
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