Norway awards 57 new NCS production licences under APA 2025

The Norwegian Ministry of Energy has allocated 57 caller accumulation licences to 19 companies arsenic portion of the Awards successful Predefined Areas (APA) 2025 licensing circular pertaining to the Norwegian Continental Shelf (NCS).

This announcement underscores Norway's ongoing strategy to support its presumption arsenic a cardinal vigor supplier to Europe amid anticipated declines successful accumulation successful the coming years.

Of the recently issued licences, 31 are located successful the North Sea, 21 successful the Norwegian Sea and 5 successful the Barents Sea.

Norway Minister of Energy Terje Aasland said: “Norway is Europe’s astir important vigor supplier, but successful a fewer years accumulation volition statesman to decline. Therefore, we request caller projects that tin dilatory the diminution and present arsenic overmuch accumulation arsenic possible.

“Today, we are offering 57 caller accumulation licences to 19 companies.

“This is simply a important publication to ensuring continued enactment successful the lipid and state industry. That enactment is important for jobs, worth instauration and Europe’s vigor security.”

The licensing process follows guidelines acceptable by the Norwegian Parliament that specify regions wherever caller accumulation licences whitethorn beryllium awarded.

The APA strategy is an yearly exploration inaugural that aims to promote exploration and assets extraction wrong designated areas connected the NCS.

Each licence comes with an obligatory enactment programme intended to guarantee either improvement oregon relinquishment of onshore backmost to the state.

In total, 13 companies person been granted operatorships among the offered licences.

Norwegian Offshore Directorate regulations, licence and country absorption manager Kalmar Ildstad said: “This year's awards amusement that the companies inactive spot the imaginable for profitable exploration successful mature areas. Resources proven adjacent established installations volition beryllium important to guarantee precocious worth instauration and effectual utilisation of infrastructure moving forward.

“It is besides encouraging that respective companies person submitted applications to behaviour caller assessments of discoveries with choky reservoirs, wherever accumulation has truthful acold been deemed unlikely.”

The APA licensing rounds began successful 2003 to facilitate assets find successful mature areas earlier existing infrastructure is decommissioned.

The rounds hap annually wrong predefined zones for consistency and predictability. The APA country expands based connected evaluations of an area's maturity and assets urgency.

Public consultations preceded the announcement of APA 2025, with a deadline for applications acceptable for 2 September 2025, by which clip 20 companies had submitted their interest.