UK bid round attracts 96 applications

Nov. 22, 2017
The UK’s 30th Licensing Round drew 96 applications for 239 blocks in mature areas of the UK Continental Shelf.

The UK’s 30th Licensing Round drew 96 applications for 239 blocks in mature areas of the UK Continental Shelf (OGJ Online, June 20, 2017).

The round offered 28,257,280 acres in the southern, central, and northern North Sea, the West of Shetland area, and the East Irish Sea.

Bidding involved the Oil and Gas Authority’s new “innovate license.”

The OGA said it will offer licenses to successful applicants in the second quarter of 2018.

It plans to launch the 31st Licensing Round in mid-2018. The round will offer “high-impact exploration opportunities in underexplored areas of the UKCS,” according to the OGA.

It will publish results of a government-funded seismic program over the area on Nov. 27.