Latest Norwegian licensing round

A total of 28 companies (out of 33 that applied) have been offered ownership interests in 69 production licences on the Norwegian Continental Shelf (NCS) in the Awards in Predefined Areas (APA) 2019.

Of the 69 production licences, 13 are located in the Barents Sea, 23 in the Norwegian Sea and 33 in the North Sea. Some 18 of the production licences are additional acreage to existing production licences or agreement-based areas.

The 2019 awards have been offered to a broad spectrum of players, with a good mix of small and medium-sized companies, as well as major international players. ‘It is encouraging that companies show willingness to test new exploration concepts. Many are also focusing on proving resources near existing infrastructure. This combination is important for continued value creation on the Norwegian Shelf,’ says Torgeir Stordal,  Head of Exploration at the Norwegian Petroleum Directorate (NPD).

Among the winners were Equinor, which was awarded 23 new production licences by the Ministry of Petroleum and Energy, 14 as operator and nine as a partner; Neptune Energy, awarded four licences as operator and nine as a partner; Wintershall Dea, which received nine licences on the NCS, three as operator; and Eni (through Vår Energi, jointly owned by Eni (69.6%) and by HitecVision (30.4%)), which was granted seven operatorships and 10 partnerships.