Equinor tops Norwegian Continental Shelf licensing round

Equinor said January 14 it had been awarded 27 new production licences by Norway’s Ministry of Energy in the latest Awards in Predefined Areas (APA) licensing round, which saw a total of 53 licences awarded to 20 companies.

Equinor was awarded 20 licences in the North Sea, six in the Norwegian Sea and one in the Barents sea. Equinor is the operator of seven of the licences and a partner in 20.

"There are still substantial resources on the Norwegian Continental Shelf (NCS),” said Jez Averty, Equinor's senior vice president for subsurface, the Norwegian continental shelf. “Together with our partners, we need to explore more to contribute to European energy security and maintain our position as a reliable supplier of oil and gas.” 

The APA rounds are central to Norway’s strategy of maintaining and even growing its oil and gas production in the years to come, Energy Minister Terje Aasland told a conference, as reported by Reuters.

“If we are to uphold a stable production in the years to come, we must explore more and invest more,” he said.

Of the 53 production licences offered in the 2024 APA round, 33 are located in the North Sea, 19 in the Norwegian Sea and one in the Barents Sea. Among the 20 companies awarded licences, Aker BP received 19, 16 of which it will operate, while Var Energi ASA was awarded 16, five of which it will operate.

Equinor’s Averty said the company expects to drill around 250 exploration wells by 2035, and in order to meet that goal it needs regular access to acreage, as provided in the APA rounds.

Equinor operates 35 offshore platforms that together make up an extensive network of production, processing and export infrastructure. Discoveries in areas close to this network can usually be developed quickly, at a lower cost and with lower greenhouse gas emissions from production and transport.

One good example is the Eirin discovery, which will be tied back to the Gina Krog platform, Averty said.

“This development was approved in January 2024, and we expect production to start in the end of 2025,” he said. “The gas from Eirin will have very low production emissions, since the Gina Krog platform is electrified. Moreover, it will extend Gina Krog’s lifetime by seven years.”