UK awards 27 offshore oil and gas blocks

ABERDEEN, October 30, 2023 – The UK has awarded 27 offshore licences in its latest oil and gas bid round for its North Sea concessions, Reuters reported on Monday.

Successful bidders include American energy giant Shell, Norwegian NOC Equinor, Norwegian E&P company DNO, Norway’s Aker BP, North Sea independent Ithaca Energy, France’s TotalEnergies and British energy giant BP.

According to Reuters, Shell took home the most awards.

The country’s 33rd edition of its oil and gas bids opened on October 7, 2022, with 931 concessions on offer in the UK’s North Sea.

The round closed on January 12, 2023, with 115 bids from 76 companies across 258 blocks and part blocks.

The round consisted of the four following priority areas with known hydrocarbons deposits on the Southern North Sea: the Greater Pegasus, Greater West Sole Area, Greater Cygnus Area and the Cotton Area.

Britain currently produces around 1.3 million boepd.