No: 40/1999
Date: 16 June 1999

Press Release

Nomination for the 16th Licencing Round

16 companies have submitted their nominations to the Ministry of Petroleum and Energy for blocks that are recommended for inclusion in the 16th licencing round. The nominating companies are : Agip, BP Amoco, Chevron, Conoco, Elf, Enterprise, Esso, Fortum, Hydro, Mobil, Phillips, RWE-DEA, Saga, Shell, Statoil and Total. 83 blocks or parts of blocks in the Norwegian Sea have been nominated by two or more companies.

The Ministry will base its selection of blocks to be announced on the information received. In this selection, resource/exploration considerations will be of particular importance. At the same time, issues related to fisheries interests and environmental concerns will be emphazised.

- The 16th licencing round would contribute to reduce the fall in the activity level on the Norwegian continental shelf. In the longer run this may result in new profitable field developments, says Erlend Grimstad State Secretary at the Ministry of Petroleum and Energy at the Stord-conference today. The main theme at the conference was the competetiveness of the Norwegian Continental Shelf.

The Ministry of Petroleum and Energy aims to announce the blocks in the second half of 1999. Awards could then take place in the first half of 2000.

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Contact: Sissel Edvardsen, + 47 22 24 61 09