Norway Govt: 29 Cos Applied for Awards on Norwegian Shelf

The Norwegian Ministry of Petroleum and Energy Friday said it had received applications from 29 companies for its awards in predefined areas on the Norwegian continential shelf.

The ministry said it aims to award new production licenses in APA 2005 in December.

"This year almost twice as many companies have applied compared to two years ago. It is encouraging to see that many of the newly-established companies on the NCS have submitted applications in APA 2005. At the same time it is still a substantial interest for mature acreage on the NCS from the larger and established companies on the NCS," said Thorhild Widvey, Norwegian minister of Petroleum and Energy.

"During our four year term, the government have had a high focus on securing the industry access to prospective acreage on the NCS. It is important to continue this focus in the coming years, by announcing blocks and awarding production licenses in mature parts of the NCS," said Widvey.

The companies that have submitted applications are Altinex Oil AS, A/S Norske Shell, BG Norge AS, ConocoPhillips Skandinavia AS, DNO AS, DONG Norge AS, Endeavour Energy Norge AS, Ener Petroleum ASA, Eni Norge AS, E. ON Ruhrgas Norge AS, Esso Norge AS, Gaz de France Norge AS, Idemitsu Petroleum Norge AS, Lundin Norway AS, Maersk Oil Norway AS, Marathon Petroleum Norge AS, Norsk Hydro Produksjon a.s, Norwegian Energy Company AS (NORECO), Paladin Resources Norge AS, Pertra AS, Petro-Canada UK Limited, Premier Oil Norge AS, Revus Energy AS, RWE Dea Norge AS, Statoil ASA, Svenska Petroleum Exploration Norge AS, Talisman Energy Norge AS, Total E & P Norge AS and Wintershall Norge AS.

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