Norway postpones Barents licensing round

Norway's Ministry of Industry & Energy has put off an offering of acreage in the Barents Sea frontier off northern Norway until later this year. A licensing round was expected to get under way earlier this year, but the ministry cited delays caused by its staff's work load in processing 15th round acreage applications. Now, nominations for available Barents Sea blocks are due in the third quarter, with the deadline for applications to be set in early 1997. The ministry foresees awards

May 13, 1996

2 min read

Norway's Ministry of Industry & Energy has put off an offering of acreage in the Barents Sea frontier off northern Norway until later this year.

A licensing round was expected to get under way earlier this year, but the ministry cited delays caused by its staff's work load in processing 15th round acreage applications.

Now, nominations for available Barents Sea blocks are due in the third quarter, with the deadline for applications to be set in early 1997.

The ministry foresees awards of licenses in this play in March or April next year.

Arthur Andersen Petroleum Services, London, said 16 discoveries have been made in the Barents Sea to date out of a total of 53 wells drilled.

However, no commercial oil has been found, and the substantial gas strikes are too far from markets for economic development at present.

Norway's Den norske stats oljeselskap AS, Norsk Hydro AS, and Saga Petroleum AS decided Barents Sea exploration is worth pursuing, after they pooled exploration data.

The Norwegian firms were later joined by foreign companies. The consensus appears to be that the region may be prospective but not necessarily in the formations tested so far (OGJ, Mar. 11, Newsletter).

Arthur Andersen said, "Norwegian Petroleum Directorate believes there is still significant potential in the Barents Sea and, with increased knowledge gained through thorough mapping and a continuing drilling program, this area could be the location for some large discoveries of the future."

Under its 15th offshore licensing round completed in January, the ministry offered 18 production licenses covering 33 Norwegian Sea blocks and 13 blocks in Norway's share of the North Sea (OGJ, Jan. 29, p. 36).