* Norway awards 24 licenses to 29 companies
* Statoil, Shell, Conoco, Total, Eni among winners
* Tax change, high costs cast shadow over licensing round
By Gwladys Fouche
OSLO, June 12 (Reuters) - Norway awarded 24 oil and gasexploration licences on Wednesday, mostly in the Arctic BarentsSea, potentially offering some impetus to a northward push inthe search for energy that has been held back by rising costsand taxes.
It granted licences to 29 companies, including internationalmajors Royal Dutch Shell, BP, ConocoPhillips, Total and local heavyweight Statoil,in hopes of reviving oil production that is on course to fall toa 25-year low this year.
The Barents Sea, including its eastern edge along theRussian border, is estimated by the government to hold 7.9billion barrels of oil equivalent in undiscovered oil and gas,but harsh conditions and a lack of existing infrastructure makedevelopment difficult and costly.
The government last month announced plans to increase taxeson oil firms, prompting Statoil to delay plans to develop theJohan Castberg field, the biggest find to date in Norway'sArctic.
Statoil argued said the tax change raises costs, especiallyfor marginal developments.
But Oil Minister Ola Borten Moe said on Wednesday, afterannouncing the results of the licensing round, that thecountry's tax regime was stable and supportive.
"We still have a predictable investment-friendly taxframework; this (tax increase) was just an adjustment," he said.
"Johan Castberg is a very large project and I think it willgo through," he added. "It is not abnormal, unprecedented ordramatic to use more time to work your way through a project solarge."
Analysts were more cautious, saying the tax change couldhave a wider impact and that the awards of licences did notautomatically mean development would proceed.
"I actually find it hard to see anything positive when itcomes to the Barents Sea now, in light of what has happenedrecently," Anne Gjoeen, and oil sector analyst at HandelsbankenCapital Markets said.
"The Johan Castberg discovery initially attracted a lot ofpositive attention, now it turns out that even such a big oilfind is not profitable to develop."
"I am very unsure of the potential for profitability there(in the Barents Sea)," she said. "The cost inflation is highcompared to oil price assumptions."
HEAVY INTEREST
Interest in the Barents was rejuvenated two years ago whenStatoil discovered Castberg, formerly known as Skrugard/Havis.Until then, close to 100 exploration wells had been drilled overthree decades, with the vast majority proving to be dry.
The area's chances would be boosted if more resources werediscovered near existing ones, as this would reduce developmentcosts.
"Many of the licences here are just around Castberg, so itseems like that's where the focus is," Carnegie analyst MartinVold said. "I believe Castberg will be developed."
Statoil was among the biggest winners in the licensing roundon Wednesday, taking stakes in seven licences and winning theright to operate three of them.
Italy's Eni will also operate three licences whileOMV, still a relative small player in Norway, willhave stakes in six licences. North Energy, one of thesmallest firms in Norway, also received six stakes.
Newcomers will include Lukoil and Rosneft, who will become the first Russian companies to holdstakes in Norway.
Meanwhile BP, one of the biggest active players in Norway,received stakes in two licenses and no operatorship, while BG, Denmark's DONG and Dana Petroleum did not win anylicences.
Norway has some of the highest taxes in the world for itsoil sector, but the regulatory regime favours exploration.
Unlike many major producers, it does not sell licences butawards them to the best applicants and refunds 78 percent ofdrilling costs.
It also allows firms to write off much of their developmentcosts and recoups tax money once fields go into production.
