Our Arctic Neighbors: Norwegian shelf attracting strong interest

Forty-four companies have applied for production licenses on the Norwegian continental shelf — in the North Sea, the Norwegian Sea and the Barents Sea — in the Awards in Predefined Areas 2009 program, Norway’s Ministry of Petroleum and Energy said in a release Sept. 16. The government aims to award the new licenses in late 2009 or early 2010.

“It is positive that companies identify new opportunities in the mature areas on the Norwegian continental shelf. The broad diversity of companies on the Norwegian shelf creates a multitude of ideas,” said Minister of Petroleum and Energy Terje Riis-Johansen.

The purpose of the APA arrangement is to encourage exploration activities in mature areas, according to the ministry. In these areas the expectation is for mostly small discoveries that do not justify an independent development. The idea is to discover and develop the resources before existing infrastructure closes down.

“This confirms that mature areas on the Norwegian shelf are still interesting for the oil companies,” said Sissel Eriksen, the Norwegian Petroleum Directorate’s director in charge of exploration. “High oil prices in recent years have made the Norwegian shelf attractive, which is confirmed by the very high level of exploration activity. Of course, the Norwegian shelf is not unaffected by world events, including the international financial crisis. In spite of this, however, most of the companies that applied in APA 2008 have also sent in applications this year.”

The first APA round was in 2003, with 16 companies applying, and the government received applications from 47 companies in APA 2008.

—Sarah Hurst