“This is important for jobs and value creation in the Norwegian oil and gas industry,” Oil and Energy Minister Tina Bru said as she announced the 25th round awards on Wednesday licensing of the country.

A total of seven companies are offered stakes in four permit areas, the ministry informed.

Three of the license areas are in the Barents Sea, including one in the northernmost part of the Arctic waters.

License area 1134 extends north of the 74th parallel and will be operated by Equinor in cooperation with Lundin and Petoro.

It is one of the northernmost permit areas ever issued on the Norwegian plateau. Previously, Equinor operated two other licenses at the same altitude, obtained in the 24th and 22nd license rounds.

In addition to Equinor, licenses are awarded to Shell, Idemitsu Petroleum, INEOS E&P, Lundin Energy, OMV and Vår Energi.

The Norwegian government has come under heavy attack from environmental organizations, as well as a growing number of foreign countries, for its continued drilling in Arctic waters.

PUBLICITY

“Are there adults at home? Greenpeace rhetorically asked when the Norwegian government announced its latest prices in pre-defined areas (APA) in early June. The awards include 84 blocks on the Norwegian Continental Shelf, including 70 in the Barents Sea.

Frode Pleym, director of Greenpeace Norway, called the new prices “oil and black policy”.

“Yesterday it became clear that Norway will not meet its climate obligations. Today, the government is offering oil companies massive new exploration. Are there adults at home? he said in a statement.

Despite the Norwegian government‘s continued confidence in the future of oil, there is significant declining interest among oil companies in the new permit areas.

Only seven companies bid for licenses on the acreage offered under the 25th cycle. This is significantly less than in the previous rounds. In 2019 a total of 11 companies participated in the 24th round of licensing and in 2015 – 26 companies bid for licenses in the 23rd round. In 2012, up to 36 companies applied for blocks under the 22nd licensing round.

The Ministry of Petroleum and Energy has also significantly reduced the number of rewards offered in the last round. Originally, oil companies were offered up to 136 blocks as part of the round. In the end, only 13 blocks were awarded.

Norway offers oil companies drilling acreage under regular license cycles, as well as pricing in pre-defined areas (APA).