A total of 75 new production licenses were offered to 34 companies on the Norwegian Continental Shelf in an expanded Awards in Predefined Areas (APA) bid round Jan. 16.
The offering marks the most production licenses ever awarded as well as the most applications ever submitted, the Norwegian Petroleum Directorate said.
New licenses are being awarded in both the Norwegian and Barents seas. Of the 75 production licenses, 45 are in the North Sea, 22 in the Norwegian Sea, and 8 in the Barents Sea. Twenty-two of the production licenses are additional acreage for existing production licenses. Three of the new licenses are divided stratigraphically, and only relate to levels below and above a defined stratigraphic border.
“It is positive that the companies are showing so much interest in exploring in the mature areas on the Norwegian shelf, where it is still possible to exploit existing infrastructure,” said Wenche Tjelta Johansen, NPD assistant director, exploration.
Of the 39 companies that submitted applications, 34 will be offered ownership interests in at least one production license.
