Norway opens giant oil and gas bid round

Norway has launched its latest oil and gas bid round with 92 new blocks on offer, the Ministry of Petroleum and Energy announced on Monday.

The Awards in Predefined Areas (APA) 2023 licensing round encompasses concessions on the North Sea, Norwegian Sea and Barents Sea.

Added blocks include 78 new blocks in the western area of Barents Sea and 14 blocks in the north-western area of the Norwegian Sea.

Companies can apply for all previous blocks offered in previous APA rounds that were not awarded.

The ministry has set the application deadline for August 23, 2023, with awards expected in Q1 2024.

“We need to find more gas in the Barents Sea to put in place new infrastructure. Further exploration is important to ensure that Norway remains a secure and predictable supplier of oil and gas to Europe,” said Minister of Energy and Petroleum Terje Aasland.

In January 2023, the Norwegian Petroleum Directorate announced that 25 companies were offered shares in 47 blocks in the APA 2022 bid round.

Norway’s annual APA rounds began in 2003 for bids on well-known areas or those with planned infrastructure.