Our Arctic Neighbors: Big, small companies win Norwegian licenses

Chevron, Shell, StatoilHydro, Eni and Total jostle for position with newcomer North Energy, from a small town in northern Norway

Sarah Hurst

For Petroleum News

Norway’s Ministry of Petroleum and Energy has awarded nine new production licenses in the Barents Sea and seven in the Arctic sector of the Norwegian Sea in the country’s 20th licensing round, according to a release April 30. They include the first operating license on the Norwegian Sea continental shelf for northern Norwegian company North Energy.

“It is positive for the diversity on the Norwegian continental shelf that North Energy has proved competitive for operatorships in the 20th licensing round,” said Norway’s minister of petroleum and energy, Terje Riis-Johansen. “Originating in northern Norway, North Energy can make an important contribution to developing petroleum activity in the region.”

The other operators that won Arctic Norwegian Sea production licenses were Norway’s StatoilHydro, U.S.-based Chevron and Hess, the UK’s BG, Petro-Canada and Netherlands-based Shell. StatoilHydro, Italy’s Eni, U.S.-based Marathon, BG, Austria’s OMV, and France’s Total and GDF Suez will be the operators with new production licenses in the Barents Sea. An additional five licenses were awarded in the more southern part of the Norwegian Sea.

StatoilHydro received a total of seven interests in new production licenses, three in the Barents Sea and four in the Norwegian Sea, including five operatorships. The licenses are in different geological provinces and their resource potential could form the basis for stand-alone developments, the company said in a release May 4.

“We are very satisfied with these awards and have great confidence in the potential of the Norwegian continental shelf,” said Tove Stuhr Sjoblom, StatoilHydro’s senior vice president for exploration on the Norwegian continental shelf. “Statoil Hydro has had a very high level of exploration activity in recent years. The new allocations justify continued exploration. We have knowledge, expertise and experience and are well-equipped to take on new exploration assignments,” she added.

The chances of making major discoveries on the Norwegian continental shelf are limited and pressure is rising to open new areas, StatoilHydro also noted in its release. Norway’s oil industry has been lobbying the government to open the Lofoten region in the Arctic to drilling, but fishing interests oppose such a move. In late April the country’s ruling Labor Party voted to postpone making a decision about its position on the Lofoten issue to 2010.