Global Firms To Explore Norway’s Oil & Gas Wells Fields

The Norwegian Ministry of Energy said that 21 companies have evinced interest to take part in the license round for the best-known exploration areas on the Norwegian continental shelf (NCS), for which the announcement was made in May this year setting a deadline of September 3.

The companies, both global and local, that have applied to explore new oil and gas wells are A/S Norske Shell, Aker BP ASA, Concedo AS, ConocoPhillips Skandinavia AS, DNO Norge AS, Equinor Energy AS, INPEX Idemitsu Norge AS, Lime Petroleum AS, M Vest Energy AS, OKEA ASA, OMV (Norge) AS, Pandion Energy AS, Petrolia NOCO AS, PGNiG Upstream Norway AS, Repsol Norge AS, Source Energy AS, Sval Energi AS TotalEnergies EP Norge AS, Var Energi ASA, Wellesley Petroleum AS and Wintershall Dea Norge AS.

The area of the NCS is four times the area of Norway mainland and constitutes about one-third of the Europe continental shelf. Since production started in 1971, oil and gas have been produced from a total of 123 fields on the shelf.

At the end of 2023, 92 fields were in production – 67 in the North Sea, 23 in the Norwegian Sea and two in the Barents Sea, while four new field started production in 2023. A further 15 new fields are under development at the end of the year.

Many of the producing fields are ageing, but some of them still have substantial remaining reserves. Moreover, the resource base in these fields increases when small discoveries in the area are tied into existing infrastructure.

Very Gratifying

Minister of Energy Terje Aasland said that it was very gratifying that the companies still have faith in the opportunities that lie in further exploration on the NCFS as new discoveries were crucial to slowing the expected fall in production in the 2030s.

“That we succeed in identifying and developing new fields is not only important for employment, value creation and government income here at home. It is also important for energy security in Europe,” Aasland added.

Awards in predefined areas (APA) is the annual licensing round for the best-known exploration areas on the Norwegian continental shelf that are not already licensed. It comprises the majority of the available exploration areas.

The APA area is being expanded as geological knowledge in areas on the Norwegian shelf increases. In this year’s licensing round, the predefined area was expanded in the North Sea and the Barents Sea. The aim is to award new production licenses in the announced areas at the beginning of 2025.

Background

The annual licensing rounds APA (Awards in predefined areas) were introduced in 2003 with the aim to best facilitate the identification and extraction of profitable resources in mature areas before existing infrastructure shuts down.

The APA licensing rounds take place annually and within a predefined area giving the companies predictability about the available areas to apply for in the APA. This facilitates regular replenishment of new exploration area for the companies, which is important for achieving effective exploration. Over time, the APA area is expanded based on petroleum professional assessments of the areas’ maturity, and in particular the need for step-by-step exploration and utilization of time-critical resources. Today, the APA area comprises the majority of open, accessible exploration area on the Norwegian continental shelf.