Norway offered ownership interests in 53 production licenses to 28 oil and gas firms out of 31 that applied as part of its Awards in Predefined Areas (APA) 2021 licensing round.
Of the 53 licenses offered by Norway's Ministry of Petroleum and Energy, 28 are in the North Sea, 20 are in the Norwegian Sea, and 5 are in the Barents Sea. Seventeen of the production licenses are additional acreage to existing production licenses.
Equinor Energy AS has been awarded 26 new production licenses—12 as operator and 14 as partner. The licenses are comprised of 12 in the North Sea, 10 in the Norwegian Sea, and 4 in the Barents Sea.
In 2022, the company plans to take part in around 25 exploration wells, mainly near existing infrastructure. Most of the wells will be drilled in the North Sea, some in the Norwegian Sea and a few in the Barents Sea.
Wintershall Dea has been awarded seven exploration licenses, including four as operator. Five of the new licenses are in the North Sea. The other two are in the Norwegian Sea, including a new operated license close to Njord field.
DNO ASA subsidiary DNO Norge AS has been awarded participation in 10 exploration licenses, of which three are operatorships. Of the 10 new licenses, six are in the North Sea and four in the Norwegian Sea.
Lundin Energy AB subsidiary Lundin Energy Norway AS has been awarded interests in 10 exploration licenses.
The award includes six licenses in the North Sea, three in the Norwegian Sea, and one in the Southern Barents Sea. Five of the licenses will be operated by Lundin.