Heavy focus on near-field exploration in latest offshore Norway license awards

The Norwegian Energy Ministry has offered 20 E&P companies interests in 53 production licenses under Norway’s pre-defined areas (APA) offshore leasing round.

Thirty-three licenses are in the North Sea, 19 in the Norwegian Sea and one in the Barents Sea. Twenty of the awards represent additional acreage to existing production licenses.

"This year's awards show that the companies on the Norwegian Continental Shelf [NCS] are still very confident in their ability to make more discoveries near existing oil and gas infrastructure,” said Kalmar Ildstad, director of license management at the Norwegian Offshore Directorate.

Equinor

Equinor, the sector’s leading producer, gained 20 licenses in the North Sea, six in the Norwegian Sea and one in the Barents Sea. It will operate seven of these.

"The annual award of pre-defined areas is crucial to ensure high export levels over time," Jez Averty, senior vice president for subsurface, the Norwegian Continental Shelf, said. “We will continue to make robust investments, and our ambition is to drill around 250 exploration wells by 2035. In order to do this, we need regular access to acreage."

The company operates 35 offshore platforms and associated production, processing and export infrastructure across the NCS.

"We have a significant portfolio of smaller discoveries near existing infrastructure,” Averty added. “We're working alongside the supplier industry to accelerate developments and reduce costs, which will ensure that several of these discoveries can come on stream even earlier.

“One good example is Eirin, which will be tied back to Gina Krog. This development was approved in January 2024, and we expect production to start at the end of 2025…Moreover, it will extend Gina Krog's lifetime by seven years."

Aker BP

Aker BP received shares in 19 exploration licenses, 16 of which the company will operate. These are in the North Sea, including an area west of the company’s current multi-field Yggdrasil development, and the Norwegian Sea.

One operatorship covers the previously produced Frigg field, where Aker BP and its partners plan to spud an exploration well this spring.

“Although the shelf is maturing, we manage to continuously identify new opportunities," Per Øyvind Seljebotn, senior vice president of exploration and reservoir development, said. "Leveraging new technology, digitalization and investments in new data are crucial for creating good exploration opportunities for many years to come, and ensuring growth and innovation in our sector. Our strategy is to have a portfolio of exploration licenses that provides a good balance between exploration wells near existing fields and infrastructure, and wells that, if successful, can form the basis for standalone developments.”

Vår Energi

Vår Energi, Norway’s other leading independent, picked up 16 new licenses, five as operator. Nine are in the North Sea, six in the Norwegian Sea and one in the Barents Sea, with most close to existing infrastructure, including the company’s core hub areas.

CEO Nick Walker said, “Vår Energi is a leading explorer on the NCS with an exploration success rate of about 50% over the last five years. We are increasing our exploration activity in the coming years and plan to drill around 20 exploration wells this year."

INPEX

INPEX Idemitsu Norge’s eight awards are all in the North Sea and include operatorships of PL 1263 and PL 1264. The company is a partner to Equinor in the Snorre and Fram oil fields in the northern North Sea.

DNO

DNO, one of the sector’s most successful explorers last year, gained shares in 13 new licenses in the North Sea and Norwegian Sea, four as operator.

OKEA

OKEA’s haul comprised shares of eight new licenses that should support the company’s focus on near-field exploration around the Draugen, Gjøa, Brage and Ivar Aasen production hubs. It will operate production licenses 1266 and 1252, close to Draugen and Brage.

“We will continue to seek organic growth opportunities both in terms of potential new discoveries and pursue new developments nearby OKEA’s infrastructure,” said OKEA's senior vice president of subsurface, Ida Lundh.

Sval Energi

Another mid-sized Norwegian independent, Sval Energi, secured shares in seven new North Sea licenses, two as operator.

Pandion Energy

Pandion Energy’s awards comprise:

PL 006 G in the southern North Sea, representing additional acreage to the Valhall and Hod fields (Pandion 10%, partner to Aker BP);
PL1151 B in the Greater Gjøa area in the northern North Sea where the company is a partner on the producing Nova field and the Ofelia discovery; and
PL 263 H, additional acreage to the Sierra and Solberg discoveries in the Norwegian Sea (Pandion 49%).