Twelve oil companies�and one contractor�turned in applications in the latest round of licensing on the Norwegian Continental Shelf (NCS), Norway's Minister of Petroleum announced Thursday.
The companies that submitted applications are: Agip SPA, BP PLC, Chevron Corp., Conoco Inc., Enterprise Oil PLC, ExxonMobil Corp., Norsk Hydro AS, Fortum Oil AS, Phillips Petroleum Co., RWE-DEA AG, the Royal Dutch/Shell Group, Statoil AS, and Aker Maritime AS.
The Norwegian government last year decided to allow service contractor Aker to bid for exploration areas just as operators do (OGJ, Dec. 6, 1999, p. 25).
Production licenses will be granted in the North Sea Awards 2000, scheduled to take place in the first quarter of 2001.
"The North Sea Awards 2000 was announced to contribute to responsible resource management," emphasized Minister of Petroleum and Energy Olav Akselsen. "At the same time, it's important that the industry gets the opportunity to utilize the remaining resources [on the NCS] in a business-like way."
