Norway’s Ministry of Petroleum and Energy has opened its latest Norwegian Continental Shelf (NCS) – Awards in Predefined Areas (APA) licensing round.
The area covered by the 2015 round, licenses from which are expected to be awarded in early 2016, include 35 new blocks in the Norwegian Sea which have not previously been in the APA.
The new blocks include blocks close to the Aasta Hansteen field (pictured), which is currently undergoing development through Norway’s largest ever SPAR platform, and the more recent Pil and Bue discoveries on the Haltenbanken terrace. In the Barents Sea, the area has been expanded with 11 blocks close to the Alta and Gohta discoveries.
“The expansion of the APA-area in the Norwegian Sea and in the Barents Sea in APA 2015 opens up for effective exploration of the areas near several discoveries and close to the Aasta Hansteen-field,” says Norwegian Energy Minister Tord Lien. “This is good resource management, and will be important for the activity-level and the value-creation, especially in the northern region.”
Last year’s APA saw 47 companies apply for licenses, which was seen as being a strong level of interest, thanks to a number of discoveries made on the NCS in 2013. A total 109,205sq km was opened for applications in the 2014 round, which had expanded by six blocks in the Norwegian Sea and three blocks in the Barents Sea.
The deadline for applications for APA 2015 is 2 September.
APA is one of two equal licensing rounds on the NCS. The scheme was introduced in 2003 to facilitate exploration of geologically well-known parts of the shelf using current methods.
The Ministry acknowledges that while the expected size of discoveries in these areas is decreasing, new finds made could be profitable if developed in conjunction with other discoveries or by using existing or currently planned infrastructure, such as the Aasta Hansteen SPAR.
In January, the Ministry of Petroleum and Energy launched its separate 23rd licensing round, which seeks to open up new areas to exploration. The 23rd round, which comprises 57 blocks or part blocks in total, includes some 54 blocks or part blocks in the Barents Sea.
Some 40 companies had nominated a total 160 blocks in the consultation leading up to the licensing round.
The 23rd round application deadline is 2 December 2015. The Norwegian government aims to award new production licenses in the first half of 2016.
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