Press Release

Applications for North Sea Awards 1999

By the deadline for applications for the North Sea Awards 1999, the Ministry of Petroleum and Energy has received applications from 18 oil companies. The companies that have submitted applications individually or jointly are: Agip, BP Amoco, Conoco, Dansk Olie og Naturgass, Elf, Enterprise, Esso, Hydro, Marathon, Mobil, Neste, Phillips, RWE-DEA, Saga, Shell, Statoil, Total and Ugland. Applications have been submitted for 20 of the 33 blocks or parts of blocks that were announced in November 1998.

- I am satisfied with the interest shown by the companies at a time with low oil prices and great uncertainty facing the industry. The North Sea Awards were announced to secure good resource management of the most mature part of the Norwegian Continental Shelf, says Minister of Petroleum and Energy, Marit Arnstad.