Nearly 50 companies have made applications for licenses in the Norwegian government's lates licensing round.
The deadline for applications ended September 2. Norway's Ministry of Energy and Petroleum said applications had been received from 47 companies for the awards in predefined areas (APA) 2014 on the Norwegian shelf.
The Norwegian Petroleum Directorate (NPD) said the level of interest was aided thanks to several oil and gas discoveries made in the Norwegian Sea in the last year,
The NPD will now start evaluating the applications and plans to award new production licenses in APA 2014 during January 2015.
“We are looking for the best applicants, companies with good knowledge, new geological concepts and the best strategy for exploring the areas,” says Sissel Eriksen, exploration director at the NPD.
A total 109,205sq km was open for applications this year. Since APA 2013, the predefined areas (APA areas) have been expanded by six blocks in the Norwegian Sea and three blocks in the Barents Sea.
In APA 2013, the authorities received applications from 50 companies for available acreage totalling 103,29sq km. Of this, 18,136sq km was awarded in early 2014.
The companies who submitted applications for APA 2014 were: