APA 2013: High Five for Maersk Oil

Maersk Oil Norway was granted five new licences; two in the North Sea and three in the Barents Sea; in today’s APA (Awards in Predefined Areas) licence round.

“The new licences are a welcome addition to Maersk Oil Norway’s portfolio. Maersk Oil has a global target of sustaining an entitlement production of 400,000 bpd by 2020 and our activities in Norway, including the Johan Sverdrup field, will be a vital part in reaching it. We expect that our exploration efforts in Norway will support the production level in the longer term,” said Morten Jeppesen, Managing Director of Maersk Oil Norway.

In the Southern part of the North Sea, Maersk Oil was awarded two new licences close to the Danish and UK borders. These are PL728 (operated by DONG 45%, Maersk Oil 35% and Petoro 20%) and PL732 (Maersk Oil 60% as operator and Suncor 40%).

In the Barents Sea, Maersk Oil was awarded three new licences PL 764, PL765 and PL766, none of them operated, and now holds four licences in the region. PL764 and PL766 have the same partnership with Lundin as operator with 40%, Maersk Oil with a 40% and Bayerngas with a 20% share. PL765 has Statoil as operator (40%) and Lundin, Bayerngas and Maersk Oil with an equal share of 20%.

“Adding new licences is an important step up of our activity in the Barents Sea. It opens up new opportunities, all with oil potential,” said Jeppesen.