LONDON, July 27 (Reuters) - Britain on Monday awarded 41licences to drill for oil and gas in the North Sea, thegovernment said, with oil majors Shell and ENI among the successful bidders.
The awards marked the end of Britain's Oil And GasAuthority's (OGA) latest licensing round. They brought the totalnumber of licences granted under the round to 175, making it oneof the largest in the last 50 years.
Britain's North Sea is one of the world's most mature andtherefore costly areas to explore for oil and gas. The highnumber of licences issued shows the government is trying toattract as much exploration activity as possible to help dampena rapid decline in North Sea production.
"Licences are just a start, and industry, government and theOGA now need to work together to revitalise exploration activityacross the basin and convert licences into successfulexploration wells," said OGA Chief Executive Andy Samuel.
Italian oil company ENI was awarded three licences, covering23 blocks, while Shell received one licence to explore 10blocks, government data showed. (Reporting by Karolin Schaps; Editing by Pravin Char)