Norway needs
new oil
discoveries
in the next
few years
to maintain
employment
and its oil
industry
supply
chain.
Access to new
exploration areas
on the Norwegian
continental shelf
are planned,
according to
Petroleum and
Energy Minister
Tina Bru.
Norway is
currently
reducing its oil
production
because of the
COVID-19 slump
in oil prices.
But after
the Johan
Sverdrup,
and the
planned Johan
Castberg oilfield,
reach peak
production
in a few years,
Norway’s
oil production
is set for a
natural decline
after 2023.
The Norwegian
Petroleum Directorate
(NPD) claims Norway
has produced 48%
of the recoverable
resources on the
continental shelf.
Norway recently
announced the
annual licensing
round for
oil and gas
exploration in
mature areas
on the shelf,
expanding the
total acreage
available by
36 blocks, west
of the Norwegian
Sea.
Awards in Predefined
Areas (APA) are
announced every year,
for the mature parts
of the continental shelf,
with known geology,
and good infrastructure
already in place.
Norway is
also looking
to offer 136 blocks
for oil and gas
exploration in the
licensing round
for less explored
areas on its shelf,
including 125 blocks
in the Arctic Barents
Sea that are currently
not available for drilling.
So the 25th
licensing round
in Fall 2020,
will include
frontier parts
of the Norwegian
Continental
Shelf (NCS).
Norway’s oil ministry
believes the frontier
regions are most likely
to host large new
discoveries.
The ministry proposes
nine frontier areas
for exploration,
including eight areas
in the Barents Sea,
and one area in the
Norwegian Sea.