Norway Announces New Oil and Gas Opportunities

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Written by Martin Lynch, European News Editor for Industrial Info (Galway, Ireland)--The competition is set to get underway for oil and gas companies as Norway has announced this year's licensing round in mature areas on the Norwegian Continental Shelf (NCS).

The Awards in Predefined Areas (APA) 2018 round was released by the Norwegian Ministry of Petroleum and Energy, and the predefined area has been expanded by a total of 103 blocks-- 47 blocks in the Norwegian Sea and 56 blocks in the Barents Sea. The expansion mainly includes blocks in the western part of the Norwegian Sea as well as areas east of the existing APA area in the Barents Sea. The competition will award new production licenses from the beginning of 2019. The APAs focus on what are termed the "geologically most mature parts of the NCS" and the expected size of discoveries in these areas is smaller. In January, the ministry awarded a record 75 production licenses on the Norwegian continental shelf for the 2017 APA round.

"Access to prospective exploration acreage is crucial in order to make new petroleum discoveries," commented Minister of Petroleum and Energy Terje Søvikne. "New discoveries on the Norwegian continental shelf ensure value creation, employment and government revenues. An important pillar of the government's policy is to facilitate oil companies in a continued safe and effective exploration in Norway."

The application deadline for companies is noon on September 4. Last year's September deadline saw a total of 39 companies bidding for new blocks, more than 50% higher than in 2016 and the highest number since the APA scheme was launched in 2013. Of the 75 licences awarded, the lion's share went to Statoil (NYSE:STO) (Stavanger, Norway), which was offered interests in 31 exploration licences on the NCS, 17 of these as operator, and 14 as a partner.

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