Norway to Award New Production Licences in APA 2013

When the application deadline expired for Awards in Predefined Areas (APA) 2013 on the Norwegian continental shelf, the Ministry of Petroleum and Energy (MPE) had received applications from 50 companies. The Ministry aims to award new production licences in APA 2013 sometime during January 2014.

“In order to achieve a high level of value creation and State revenues, it is important that we facilitate a long-term, stable activity level on the continental shelf. Timely exploitation of the mature areas on the shelf is a prerequisite for achieving this. The fact that so many companies have expressed interest in new awards in mature areas is very positive” says Minister of Petroleum and Energy Ola Borten Moe (Centre Party).

The APA system involves annual awards within pre-defined mature areas. The available area is expanded as new areas mature. The objective of the APA system is to stimulate exploration activity in mature parts of the shelf where, in most cases, minor discoveries that can carry a stand-alone development are expected. Good resource management indicates that Companies prove and exploit these resources before existing infrastructure associated with other fields is shut down.

Although most discoveries in the APA acreage cannot support a stand-alone development, recent years have shown that significant discoveries can still be made in mature areas of the shelf. This is a result of the fact that the APA system facilitates circulation of area, and allows new ideas to be tested in areas that have been available for exploration for several years. Large parts of the APA acreage have been previously awarded and relinquished.

“The fact that we have as many as 50 companies on the list of applicants illustrates again the enormous success of the APA scheme. This program has become one of the pillars in our work to maximise value from our oil and gas resources,” says Minister of Petroleum and Energy Ola Borten Moe.

The Government announced APA 2013 on 15 February 2013. More information about APA 2013 can be found in the press release that was issued at the time. Here you can also find a map of the announced areas.

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Press Release, September 13, 2013