Oil and gas company Spirit Energy has been awarded six new licenses in the UK North Sea as part of the UK's 32nd Offshore Licensing Round.
Spirit was handed operatorship in three of the licenses; Medusa, Bucephalus and Cavendish N extension, and partnership in the remaining three; Haw Moth, West Orchards, and Cait.
Spirit Energy said that due to the high competition, the area offered in some applications was smaller than the original application.
Anne-Sophie Cyteval, UK Exploration Manager, said: “This is excellent news and a great achievement as there was a lot of competition this year for new acreage. We’ve been awarded six new licenses – three in the southern North Sea and three in the central North Sea. This enables us to further diversify and strengthen our portfolio in focus areas.”
Exploration potential still exists
Cyteval added: “Geographically, Spirit Energy concentrates on North-West Europe. Recent discoveries made in the UK and Norwegian continental shelves have demonstrated that exploration potential still exists; around 40 billion barrels have been found, while around 30 billion are waiting to be discovered. We want to tap into these resources, and I believe North Sea exploration will be vital to our success as a company.
"We will now start further seismic studies of our new acreage and hopefully we can mature them into drill-ready prospects relatively quickly.”
In the 32nd round, the Oil and Gas Authority has offered for award 113 license areas over 259 blocks or part-blocks to 65 companies.
The round, which provides exploration and field development opportunities in mature areas, was launched by the UK Oil and Gas Authority in June 2019 and included a total of 796 blocks or part-blocks across the main producing areas of the UKCS.