Offshore Energy Act
Law | Date: 29/03/2023 | Ministry of Energy
Originally published by: Ministry of Petroleum and Energy
The Act applies to Norway’s territorial sea outside the baselines and to the continental shelf, but individual provisions can also be made applicable to internal waters.
The Norwegian state has the right to utilise offshore energy resources. A licence is required for electricity generation, conversion and transmission in areas covered by the Act.
As a general rule, licences can only be obtained after the central government authorities have carried out a strategic environmental assessment and decided to open specific areas for licence applications. However, the authorities may exempt pilot projects and similar projects with a limited time frame from these requirements.
The Offshore Energy Regulations were finalised on June 12, 2020 and entered into force on January 1, 2021.
The Regulations describe the licensing process in detail.