(Adds company names, quote, detail)
By Nerijus Adomaitis
SANDEFJORD, Norway, Jan 14 (Reuters) - The Norwegian
government has awarded 28 oil and gas companies a total of 69
offshore blocks to explore for petroleum in mature areas of its
continental shelf, the Norwegian Petroleum Directorate said on
Tuesday.
Shell, ConocoPhillips, Total and
Equinor won blocks, as did DNO, Aker BP
, Lundin Petroleum and Eni's Vaar
Energi.
Private-equity backed firms, such as Chrysoar, which
acquired ConocoPhillips assets in the British North Sea last
year, and Neptune Energy received stakes in eight and 13 blocks
respectively.
Russia's Lukoil, which holds stakes in two
licences, and wholly-owned Rosneft subsidiary RN
Nordic, a previous licenceholder, were not awarded any blocks. A
ministry spokesman declined to comment on why.
The annual predefined areas (APA) licensing round covers
blocks adjacent to acreage previously explored or developed, as
opposed to licensing rounds in the country's frontier areas.
Thirty-three oil companies had submitted bids by a September
deadline for a total of 90 offshore exploration blocks,
including 48 in the Arctic Barents Sea.
The number of final awards depends on a range of factors,
including Norway's requirement that each licence must have
several owners.
Of this year's 69 licences, 33 were in the North Sea off
southern Norway, 23 were in the Norwegian Sea off central and
northern Norway and 13 were in the far-north Barents Sea.
Norway's oil and gas output is expected to rise sharply in
the next several years as recent large discoveries come on
stream, and authorities are keen to extend the lifespan of the
oil and gas industry for decades to come.
"Hopefully, the exploration in the awarded acreage will
result in new discoveries," Oil and Energy Minister Sylvi
Listhaug told an industry conference in south-east Norway.
"This is important to ensure employment, value-creation and
future government revenue for Norway's largest industry."
Separate from the APA awards, Norway also conducts so-called
numbered licensing rounds, which include frontier parts of the
Norwegian continental shelf, where exploration is more risky,
but where large finds could be made.
The government aims to announce the next numbered licensing
round before Norway's 2021 general election, but must first
agree an updated plan on areas to exempt due to environmental
concerns, particularly in the Arctic.
The Norwegian Petroleum Directorate (NPD) estimates that
two-thirds of Norway's undiscovered oil and gas resources are in
the Barents Sea, but exploration there has been disappointing in
the last few years.
(Writing by Nerijus Adomaitis and Terje Solsvik; Editing by
Gwladys Fouche and Jan Harvey)
