Equinor, Aker BP dominate Norwegian licensing round

Jan. 15, 2019
Equinor and Aker BP dominated awards by Norway’s Ministry of Petroleum as part of the Award in Predefined Areas (APA) for 2018 held Jan. 15. Thirty-three companies were offered ownership interests in 83 production licenses on the Norwegian Continental Shelf—the largest number ever awarded in one licensing round, according to the Norwegian Petroleum Directorate. Twenty-one of the companies will be offered operatorship.

Equinor and Aker BP dominated awards by Norway’s Ministry of Petroleum as part of the Award in Predefined Areas (APA) for 2018 held Jan. 15. Thirty-three companies were offered ownership interests in 83 production licenses on the Norwegian Continental Shelf—the largest number ever awarded in one licensing round, according to the Norwegian Petroleum Directorate. Twenty-one of the companies will be offered operatorship.

Of the 83 production licenses offered, 37 are in the North Sea, 32 in the Norwegian Sea, and 14 in the Barents Sea. Eighteen of the licenses are additional acreage to existing production licenses. The licenses are awarded with work-program commitments or as additional area to such licenses.

“The number of awards shows that the companies believe that more resources remain to be found in areas with known geology and near existing infrastructure. It is important that these resources are discovered while we still have infrastructure such as platforms and pipelines nearby—then even small discoveries can be developed profitably. One reason why the companies still find it attractive to explore in mature areas could be that large parts of the shelf are now covered by new and improved seismic data, which together with new technology enable the companies to identify new exploration targets,” said Torgeir Stordal, NPD exploration director.

Equinor was awarded 29 new licenses—7 in the North Sea, 16 in the Norwegian Sea, and 6 in the Barents Sea. Overall, the company was awarded 13 licenses as operator and 16 as partner.

“These awards fit with our strategy to maximize value creation through existing infrastructure and test new ideas that could create growth options. In line with our NCS roadmap, we have an increased focus on gas opportunities and that has also been reflected in our application and today’s awards,” said Nick Ashton, Equinor senior vice-president, exploration, Norway and the UK.

Of the 21 production licenses awarded to Aker BP, 12 are in the North Sea (5 as operator), 3 are in the in the Norwegian Sea (2 as operator), and 6 are in the Barents Sea (4 as operator).

DNO Norge AS was awarded participation in 18 exploration licenses, of which 5 are operatorships. Of the 18 licenses, 9 are in the North Sea, 2 are in the Norwegian Sea, and 7 are in the Barents Sea.

Additional award details from the Ministry of Petroleum and Energy can be found here.

Contact Mikaila Adams at [email protected].