Tag Archives: Oil & Gas

Norway grants 61 new offshore oil and gas exploration licenses

OSLO – Thirty companies have received offers of ownership interests in a total of 61 production licenses on the Norwegian Shelf in the Awards in Predefined Areas (APA) 2020.

The authorities assessed applications from a total of 33 companies during autumn 2020.

Of the 61 production licenses, 34 are in the North Sea, 24 are in the Norwegian Sea and 3 are in the Barents Sea. 12 of the production licenses are additional acreage to existing production licenses.

“This year’s award of 61 new production licenses to as many as 30 companies shows that the petroleum industry still has significant expectations of making profitable discoveries on the Norwegian Shelf,” says director license management in the Norwegian Petroleum Directorate, Kalmar Ildstad.

“It’s positive that the companies are showing significant interest in exploring in areas with known geology, and close to existing infrastructure,” says Ildstad.

The player landscape in this APA award is very diverse. Both small companies and major international players are being offered exploration acreage.

Equinor has been awarded 17 new APA production licenses – 10 as operator and seven as partner.

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Government: Announcement of Awards in Predefined Areas (APA) 2019

The Norwegian Ministry of Petroleum and Energy announces this year’s licensing round in mature areas on the Norwegian continental shelf – Awards in Predefined Areas (APA) 2019.

– I am delighted to announce this year’s APA round. We are continuing our practice of offering regular concessions on the NCS to provide the industry access to new acreage. Awarding prospective acreage is a central element in the Government’s policy. I believe the oil companies are well motivated to continuing exploring the NCS, says Minister Kjell-Børge Freiberg.

In the APA 2019, the predefined area has been expanded by a total of 90 blocks – five in the North Sea, 37 in the Norwegian Sea and 48 in the Barents Sea.

– The expansion of the APA-area is important to ensure effective exploration of larger parts of the NCS, including the Barents Sea. The expansion will give the companies access to new opportunities that can enable value creation, employment and technology development.

Read entire press release HERE.

Reuters: Norway’s oil industry eyes 17% growth in 2019 investments

OSLO (Reuters) – Oil and gas companies working in Norway have hiked their 2019 and 2020 investment forecasts as they add more field development plans, a survey by the country’s statistics agency (SSB) showed on Tuesday.

Higher investment raises the prospect of further interest rate hikes by Norway’s central bank, economists said, as the data helped lift the crown to an almost four-week high against the euro.

Investments are now seen at a four-year high of 183.7 billion Norwegian crowns ($21.11 billion) in 2019, up from the 172.7 billion crowns seen in February, according to SSB, which collects the data from oil firms.

“The oil companies’ latest estimates for 2019 suggest an increase of as much as 17% compared with the corresponding figure for 2018,” the agency said in a statement. 

Read entire article HERE.