By OGJ editors
HOUSTON, Aug. 12 -- The UK's Department of Trade and Industry offered 88 new exploration licenses covering 137 blocks on the UK Continental Shelf to 62 companies July 31, following the close of its 21st offshore licensing round. Energy Minister Stephen Timms said successful applicants would have a fixed period in which to decide whether or not to accept the offers.
Timms said that 53 of the licenses awarded are the new "Promote" licenses designed to encourage new, smaller independent players to invest in the North Sea, and the remaining 35 were traditional offshore production licenses. A record 27 of the companies are new entrants to the area.
"It is clear confirmation that our policies in the North Sea are working and that the UKCS still offers plenty of opportunities for investment and exploration," Timms said. "Today's offers, which are the largest since the late 1980s, are proof positive that this approach is the right one." He said the outcome "ensures development in the North Sea for many years to come."
Promote Licenses
The new 'Promote' License offers the licensee the opportunity to assess and promote the prospectivity of the licensed acreage for a 2-year period without the stringent financial, technical, and environmental entry checks required for traditional licenses.
However, Promote Licensees will not be approved as operator and will not be permitted to drill wells until they have passed those checks and made a firm commitment to complete an agreed initial-term work program. For the period of this assessment the license rental fee will be 10% of the rental fee for the traditional license (i.e. £15/sq km).
A full breakdown of successful applicants is available at: www.og.dti.gov.uk.