Norway has launched a public consultation ahead of its licensing round APA 2021 (Award in Pre-defined Areas) in which the vast majority of the blocks on offer will be in the Barents Sea.
Norway has launched a public consultation ahead of its licensing round APA 2021 (Award in Pre-defined Areas) in which the vast majority of the blocks on offer will be in the Barents Sea.
It is proposing to tender a further 84 new blocks in the APA area: four in the North Sea, 10 in the Norwegian Sea and 70 in the Barents Sea.
The country aims to implement APA 2021 in line with the usual schedule. That means announcement with an application deadline in the third quarter of 2021 and award in January 2022.
Meanwhile, seven companies have applied for production licences in the 25th licensing round on the Norwegian Shelf, which comprises nine areas outside the APA areas. They are: Shell, Equinor, Idemitsu Petroleum, Ineos, Lundin, OMV, and Vår Energi.
The round was announced on 19 November 2020 and includes one area in the Norwegian Sea and eight in the Barents Sea.
The Ministry of Petroleum and Energy aims to award new production licences in the ‘first part of this year’.
