Norway hands out 54 exploration blocks

The Norwegian Government has today offered ownership interests in 54 new production licences in connection with the Awards in Pre-defined Areas 2014 (APA 2014).

Forty-three different companies are offered ownership interests in the licensing round.

“Today’s award of new exploration acreage provides new tangible exploration opportunities for the companies. Most of the exploration activity on the Shelf is carried out in mature areas. The awards contribute to ensure a stable activity level and continued exploration of the Norwegian Shelf. The fact that 43 different oil companies are offered ownership interests shows that we have an extensive diversity of players on the shelf,” says Minister of Petroleum and Energy Tord Lien (Progress Party).

The 54 production licences are distributed over the North Sea (34), the Norwegian Sea (16) and the Barents Sea (4). According to the press release, a record number of applications were submitted by a total of 47 companies in APA 2014. Forty-three different companies will be awarded ownership interests in one or more production licences. Twenty-three of these companies will be offered operatorship.

“The Government will maintain a predictable and high level as regards award of new acreage for petroleum activity. The awards in APA 2014 show that we are still keeping our promises, and that the APA rounds works as intended,” says the Minster of Petroleum and Energy Tord Lien.

The APA licensing rounds cover the most explored areas on the Norwegian shelf. One of the primary challenges in mature areas is the expected decline in discovery size. Minor discoveries will not be able to carry standalone developments, but may have good profitability when they can exploit existing and planned processing equipment and transportation systems, or be seen in context with other discoveries or planned developments. Timely discovery and exploitation of such resources is therefore important.

Requirements

According to the Norwegian Petroleum Directorate (NPD), there is a requirement for acquisition of new seismic in five areas, and three firm wells must be drilled. For the other production licences there are “drill or drop” conditions. This means that the licensees have between one and three years to decide whether they want to drill an exploration well. If they do not wish to drill an exploration well, the production licence lapses, the NPD explains.

Offers

Offers to 23 operators:

(Number of operatorships in brackets)

A/S Norske Shell (1)

Bayerngas Norge AS (2)

BG Norge AS (1)

Centrica Resources (Norway) AS (2)

ConocoPhillips Skandinavia AS (2)

Det norske oljeselskap ASA (3)

DONG E&P Norge AS (1)

E.ON E&P Norge AS (3)

Eni Norge AS (1)

EnQuest Norge AS (1)

Faroe Petroleum Norge AS (1)

GDF SUEZ E&P Norge AS (1)

Ithaca Petroleum Norge AS (2)

Lotos Exploration and Production Norge AS (1)

Lundin Norway AS (6)

PGNiG Upstream International AS (1)

Repsol Exploration Norge AS (2)

Rocksource Exploration Norway AS (1)

Statoil Petroleum AS (8)

Total E&P Norge AS (5)

Tullow Oil Norge AS (5)

VNG Norge AS (1)

Wintershall Norge AS (3)

Offers to 43 licensees:

(Number of shares in brackets, including where the companies are operators)

A/S Norske Shell (1)

Atlantic Petroleum Norge AS (2)

Bayerngas Norge AS (5)

BG Norge AS (1)

Capricorn Norge AS (5)

Centrica Resources (Norway) AS (5)

Concedo ASA (5)

ConocoPhillips Skandinavia AS (2)

Core Energy AS (1)

Det norske oljeselskap ASA (9)

DONG E&P Norge AS (1)

E.ON E&P Norge AS (12)

Edison Norge AS (2)

Eni Norge AS (2)

EnQuest Norge AS (2)

Explora Petroleum AS (5)

ExxonMobil Exploration & Production Norway AS (2)

Faroe Petroleum Norge AS (5)

Fortis Petroleum Norway AS (7)

GDF SUEZ E&P Norge AS (3)

Idemitsu Petroleum Norge AS (1)

Ithaca Petroleum Norge AS (3)

Lime Petroleum Norway AS (1)

Lotos Exploration and Production Norge AS (1)

Lundin Norway AS (8)

Maersk Oil Norway AS (1)

North Energy ASA (2)

OMV (Norge) AS (3)

Petrolia Norway AS (3)

PGNiG Upstream International AS (1)

Premier Oil Norge AS    (1)

Repsol Exploration Norge AS (2)

Rocksource Exploration Norway AS (2)

RWE Dea Norge AS (1)

Skagen44 AS (1)

Spike Exploration Holding AS (4)

Statoil Petroleum AS (15)

Suncor Energy Norge AS (3)

Svenska Petroleum Exploration AS (1)

Total E&P Norge AS (9)

Tullow Norge AS (7)

VNG Norge AS (6)

Wintershall Norge AS (8)