Norway Offers 69 Production Licenses in APA 2019

Norway Offers 69 Production Licenses in APA 2019
The Norwegian Ministry of Petroleum and Energy has offered 69 production licenses on the Norwegian Continental Shelf as part of its latest licensing round - APA 2019.

The Norwegian Ministry of Petroleum and Energy revealed Tuesday that it has offered 69 production licenses on the Norwegian Continental Shelf (NCS) as part of its latest licensing round; APA 2019.

The 69 production licenses are located in the North Sea (33), the Norwegian Sea (23) and the Barents Sea (13). A total of 28 different oil companies, ranging from large international majors to smaller domestic exploration companies, were offered ownership interests. The full breakdown of the offers can be seen below:

(Number of licenses/operatorships)

  • Aker BP (15/9)
  • AS Norske Shell (5/2)
  • Capricorn (3/3)
  • Chrysaor (8/3)
  • Concedo (4/0)
  • ConocoPhillips (5/3)
  • DNO (10/2)
  • Edison (2/1)
  • Equinor (23/14)
  • Idemitsu (2/0)
  • INEOS (2/1)
  • Lime (2/0)
  • Lotos (2/0)
  • Lundin (12/7)
  • Neptune (13/4)
  • OKEA (5/2)
  • OMV (4/1)
  • ONE-Dyas (3/0)
  • Pandion (3/0)
  • PGNiG (3/0)
  • Repsol (1/0)
  • Source (3/0)
  • Spirit (6/1)
  • Suncor (5/2)
  • Total (2/1)
  • Vår Energi (17/7)
  • Wellesley (7/3) 
  • Wintershall Dea (9/3)

“I am proud to offer 69 new production licenses in this year's APA round,” Norway’s Minister of Petroleum and Energy, Sylvi Listhaug, said in a government statement.

“The companies show great interest in further access to new exploration acreage. This means that the industry believes in future value creation on the NCS,” Listhaug added.

“Hopefully, the exploration in the awarded acreage will result in new discoveries. This is important to ensure employment, value-creation and future government revenue for Norway's largest industry,” Listhaug continued.

Nick Ashton, the senior vice president of exploration in Norway and the UK for Equinor, which was offered the most licenses and operatorships in the round, said, “the award enables us to mature new prospects and prove profitable resources that can be developed within the scope of our new climate roadmap for the NCS”.

The APA licensing rounds cover the most explored areas on the Norwegian shelf, the energy ministry highlighted. The first licensing round on the NCS took place in 1965. The activity started in the North Sea and exploration in the Norwegian Sea and the Barents Sea started around 15 years later.

To contact the author, email andreas.exarheas@rigzone.com



WHAT DO YOU THINK?


Generated by readers, the comments included herein do not reflect the views and opinions of Rigzone. All comments are subject to editorial review. Off-topic, inappropriate or insulting comments will be removed.


Most Popular Articles