UK Reports Strong Interest in 30th Round
UK upstream regulator, the Oil and Gas Authority (OGA), says its latest offshore licensing round has attracted 96 applications covering 239 blocks in the main UK oil and gas producing areas.
The 30th Licensing Round, which closed on November 21, offered significant opportunities to acquire acreage in the southern, central and northern North Sea, West of Shetland and east Irish Sea, with an aggregate area of 114,426 km2 (28.275mn acres). The OGA intends to offer awards to successful applicants during 2Q 2018.
OGA head of exploration and new ventures Nick Richardson said: “Despite the difficult economic environment, industry has responded strongly to this round, confirming the high remaining potential of the UK continental shelf [UKCS]. The focus on regions with existing infrastructure provided companies with an excellent opportunity to take a fresh look at a large inventory of opportunities from which to rebuild their portfolios to help sustain future production." He said that efforts by the OGA to provide new data, analysis and insights, plus more flexible licensing, had stimulated a number of high quality applications.
Attention will now turn to the 31st Round, due to be launched in mid-2018, which will provide high-impact exploration opportunities in under-explored areas of the UKCS. To support this, the OGA will release the results of the 2016 government-funded seismic programme November 27, making some 19,000 km of newly-acquired seismic data freely available, together with some 23,000 km of reprocessed seismic data and well data packages covering the East Shetland area, northwest Scotland, southwest approaches, east Irish Sea, Celtic Sea, Cardigan Bay, Morecambe Bay, Bristol Channel and English Channel.