22nd licensing round: 24 production licences

The Norwegian Government has decided to award 24 production licenses in the 22^nd licensing round – 20 in the Barents Sea and four in the Norwegian Sea. Twenty-nine companies will be offered participating interests, while 14 companies will be offered operatorships.

“I am very pleased to be able to offer 24 production licences to 29 companies. The companies have demonstrated their strong interest and submitted numerous good applications. This confirms that the Norwegian Continental Shelf is a highly interesting petroleum province,” says Minister of Petroleum and Energy Ola Borten Moe.

Two of the 24 production licences are extensions to existing production licences.

Although activity levels in the petroleum industry on the Norwegian continental shelf are currently high, it is crucial to maintain exploration levels to ensure future activity through the discovery of new resources. The new production licences awarded in the 22^nd licensing round will only begin contributing to production in 10 to 15 years’ time.

Twenty-three of the 24 production licences on offer lie north of the polar circle. Twenty of the licences relate to the Barents Sea.

“Interest in our northernmost seas has increased in recent years. We are now laying the foundation for long-term and efficient exploration of our northern seas, in both the Barents Sea and Norwegian Sea. This will promote further growth and employment not only in the north of Norway but also in the rest of the country,” says Minister of Petroleum and Energy Ola Borten Moe.

The 22^nd licensing round was announced on 26 June 2012, and comprised 86 blocks in the Barents Sea and Norwegian Sea. By the application deadline on 4 December 2012, 36 companies had applied for production licenses.

Map of awards in the 22nd licencing round

List of awards with work obligations

Companies being offered operatorships (number of operatorships in brackets):

A/S Norske Shell (1)

Centrica Reources (Norge) AS (1)

ConocoPhillips Skandinavia AS (1)

Det norske oljeselskap ASA (2)

E.ON E&P Norge AS (2)

Edison International Norway Branch (1)

Eni Norge AS (3)

GDF SUEZ E&P Norge AS (2)

Lundin Norway AS (1)

OMV (Norge) AS (2)

Repsol Exploration Norge AS (2)

RWE Dea Norge AS (1)

Statoil Petroleum AS (3)

Total E&P Norge AS (2)

Companies being offered participating interests (number of participating interests in brackets, including where the company is the operator):

A/S Norske Shell (2)

Atlantic Petroleum Norge AS (2)

Bayerngas Norge AS (1)

BP Norge AS (2)

Centrica Reources (Norge) AS (1)

ConocoPhillips Skandinavia AS (4)

Det norske oljeselskap ASA (4)

E.ON E&P Norge AS (4)

Edison International Norway Branch (4)

Eni Norge AS (4)

Faroe Petroleum Norge AS (1)

GDF SUEZ E&P Norge AS (5)

Idemitsu Petroleum Norge AS (1)

Lukoil Overseas North Shelf AS (2)

Lundin Norway AS (1)

Maersk Oil Norway AS (1)

North Energy ASA (6)

OMV (Norge) AS (6)

PGNIG Upstream International AS (4)

Repsol Exploration Norge AS (4)

Rocksource ASA (3)

RN Nordic Oil AS (1)

RWE Dea Norge AS (1)

Statoil Petroleum AS (7)

Suncor Energy Norge AS (1)

Total E&P Norge AS (2)

Tullow Oil Norge AS (3)

Valiant Petroleum Norge AS (1)

Wintershall Norge AS (1)