Norway Awards 57 Offshore Oil & Gas Licenses in Annual Exploration Round

Norway has issued 57 offshore oil and gas exploration licenses to 19 companies under in its latest annual licensing round and indicated that it will drill more acreage in the next year. This marks an increase in licenses awarded in mature areas, rising from 53 last year, while the total number of companies receiving permits decreased from 20, Energy Minister Terje Aasland announced at a recent energy conference.

Equinor led the round, securing 17 operatorships, followed by Aker BP with 12, and Vaar Energi, a subsidiary of Italy’s Eni, which obtained six licenses. Other companies awarded operatorships include DNO, ConocoPhillips, Inpex, Okea, OMV, and Wellesley Petroleum.

The Annual Predefined Area (APA) licensing rounds are a key part of Norway’s strategy to sustain oil and gas production for years to come, even as activity is expected to gradually decline. “Norway is Europe’s most critical energy supplier, but production will start to decrease in a few years. We need new projects to mitigate this decline and maximize production,” said Aasland.

The government announced plans to initiate next year’s mature area allocation, adding 70 new blocks, including 38 in the Barents Sea. However, a planned licensing round for frontier regions—the 26th since Norway’s oil discovery in the 1960s—has been postponed for further preparations. Proposed acreage from oil companies for the frontier round will be included in next year’s mature area awards.

In the current licensing round:

• 31 licenses were awarded in the North Sea, down from 33 last year.
• 21 licenses were granted in the Norwegian Sea, up from 19.
• 5 licenses were awarded in the Barents Sea, rising from 1 last year.

The APA licensing policy faces criticism from the Green Party and environmental groups, who protested outside the energy conference.