Equinor and Aker BP dominate Norwegian licensing round
Equinor and Aker BP dominated awards by Norway’s Ministry of Petroleum as part of the Award in Predefined Areas (APA) for 2018 held on the 15th January.
Thirty-three companies were offered ownership interests in 83 production licences on the Norwegian Continental Shelf – the largest number ever awarded in one licensing round, according to the Norwegian Petroleum Directorate.
Twenty-one of the companies will be offered operatorship.
Of the 83 production coffered, 37 are in the North Sea, 32 in the Norwegian Sea, and 14 in the Barents Sea. Eighteen of the licences are additional acreage to existing production licences. The licences are awarded with work-programme commitments or as additional area to such licences.
“The number of awards shows that the companies believe that more resources remain to be found in areas with known geology and near existing infrastructure. It is important that these resources are discovered while we still have infrastructure such as platforms and pipelines nearby – then even small discoveries can be developed profitably.
One reason why the companies still find it attractive to explore in mature areas could be that large parts of the shelf are now covered by new and improved seismic data, which together with new technology enable the companies to identify new exploration targets,” said Torgeir Stordal, NPD exploration director.
Equinor was awarded 29 new licences – seven in the North Sea, 16 in the Norwegian Sea, and six in the Barents Sea. Overall, the company was awarded 13 licences as operator and 16 as partner.
“These awards fit with our strategy to maximise value creation through existing infrastructure and test new ideas which could create growth options. In line with our NCS road-map, we have an increased focus on gas opportunities and that has also been reflected in our application and today’s awards,” said Nick Ashton, Equinor senior vice-president, exploration, Norway and the UK.
Of the 21 production licences awarded to Aker BP, 12 are in the North Sea (five as operator), three are in the in the Norwegian Sea (two as operator), and six are in the Barents Sea (four as operator).
DNO Norge AS was awarded participation in 18 exploration licences, of which five are operatorships. Of the 18 licences, nine are in the North Sea, two are in the Norwegian Sea, and seven are in the Barents Sea.
Source: Oil & Gas Journal