OSLO, March 14 (Reuters) - Norway plans to expand theoffshore oil and gas acreage offered to companies under itsannual licensing round in so-called predefined areas (APA), oilminister Kjell-Boerge Freiberg said on Thursday.
The 2019 APA round will offer 90 new blocks, of which 48 arein the Arctic Barents Sea, 37 are in the Norwegian Sea and 5 inthe North Sea, he said.
"It's important to maintain the positive development inexploration activity in the Barents Sea. I hope this will leadto robust field development solutions and increased valuecreation in the north," Freiberg said in a statement.
The annual APA rounds are primarily designed to offer newacreage that is located near existing or planned developments.They differ from Norway's other licensing rounds, which are heldmore rarely and offer blocks in unexplored, frontier regions.
Environmental groups and some opposition politicians,however, have criticised the government for its policy, arguingthe APA rounds are used to expand exploration beyond matureareas of Norway's continental shelf.
Top explorers on the Norwegian continental shelf includeEquinor, Aker BP and Lundin Petroleum, among others.(Reporting by Nerijus Adomaitis, editing by Terje Solsvik andSusan Fenton)