46 Companies Express Interest in the Norwegian 20th Licensing Round on the Norwegian continental shelf
By the November 7th deadline for applications in the 20th licensing round on the Norwegian continental shelf the Ministry of Petroleum and Energy had received applications from 46 qualified companies. The Ministry aims at awarding new production licenses during spring 2009. At the same time the comprehensive Management plan for the Norwegian Sea is finalized.
-It is positive that this many companies want to aim towards new opportunities in the Barents Sea and the Norwegian Sea. Petroleum activities that are undertaken in accordance with important environmental and fisheries concerns can make a significant impact on employment, industrial development and value creation in the northern areas, says Minister of Petroleum and Energy Terje Riis-Johansen.
As part of the Government’s policy on openness, the proposal for blocks in The 20th licensing round was for the first time sent on public hearing. The different views provided an important basis for the Governments decision before the announcement of the 20th licensing round on 27th June 2008. The Ministry of Petroleum and Energy will as part of the openness policy now also for the first time make available to the public which of the announced blocks the companies have applied for. This will be published as soon as the Ministry has reviewed the applications.
The Government puts great emphasis on fisheries- and environmental concerns in the coastal areas. The conditions relating to environmental concerns and fishery interests for the 20th licensing round have therefore been strengthened in some areas, e.g. in some blocks there is introduced time limitations on seismic surveys.
The companies that have applied for production licenses are:
Aker Exploration AS
Bayerngas Norge AS
BG Norge AS
Bridge Energy AS
Centrica Resources Norge AS
Chevron Norge AS
Concedo ASA
ConocoPhillips Skandinavia AS
Dana Petroleum Norway
Det Norske Oljeselskap AS
Discover Petroleum AS
DONG Norge AS
Edison International Spa
Endeavour Energy Norge AS
Eni Norge AS
E. ON Ruhrgas Norge
Excel Expro Norge AS
ExxonMobil E&P Norway AS
Faroe Petroleum Norge AS
Gaz de France Norge AS
Genesis Petroleum Norway AS
Hess Norge AS
Idemitsu Petroleum Norge AS
Lotos EPN AS
Lundin Norway AS
Marathon Petroleum Norge AS
Nexen Exploration Norge AS
North Energy AS
Norwegian Energy Company ASA
OMV Norge AS
PA Resources Norway AS
Petro-Canada Norge AS
PGNiG Norway AS
Repsol YPF
Revus Energy ASA
Rocksource ASA
RWE Dea Norge AS
Sagex Petroleum Norge AS
AS Norske Shell
Skagen44 AS
Spring Energy Norway AS
StatoilHydro ASA
Svenska Petroleum Exploration Norge AS
Talisman Energy Norge AS
Total E&P Norge AS
Wintershall Norge AS.
Number of applicants in previous licensing rounds:
19th licensing round: 24 companies
18th licensing round: 18 companies
17th licensing round: 13 companies