Norway has awarded a record number of 75 exploration licences in the APA 2017 licensing round to 34 companies. The licences comprised 45 in the Norwegian North Sea, 22 in the Norwegian Sea and 8 in the Barents Sea.
Statoil was the biggest winnder with 31 awards. Supermajors ConocoPhillips, ExxonMobil, Shell and Total also picked up licences.
Of the E&Ps:
The Annual Predefined Areas or APA round was introduced in 2003 to encourage exploration and development of discoveries near existing infrastructure. Across all the awards this time, there are three licences with firm drilling commitments, with the remaining having drill or drop options in the next 12-24 months.
Statoil was the biggest winnder with 31 awards. Supermajors ConocoPhillips, ExxonMobil, Shell and Total also picked up licences.
Of the E&Ps:
- Aker BP was the winner with 23 licences (14 as operator)
- Lundin has been awarded 14 licences (5 as operator)
- DNO has been awarded in 10 licences
- Faroe Petroleum has been awarded 8 licences (four as operator)
- Cairn Energy has been awarded 5 licences
The Annual Predefined Areas or APA round was introduced in 2003 to encourage exploration and development of discoveries near existing infrastructure. Across all the awards this time, there are three licences with firm drilling commitments, with the remaining having drill or drop options in the next 12-24 months.
