Norway puts Arctic blocks on offer

Norway

OSLO, June 21, 2017 – Norway announced the opening of its 24th Arctic licensing round, in which 102 blocks in the Barents and Norwegian seas will be put on offer, on Wednesday.

The deadline for bidding in the round, the country’s largest to date in terms of number of blocks offered, will be November 30, with results expected to be announced in H1 2018.

The country’s government brushed off criticism from environmental organisations that had aimed to have some 20 blocks near Bear Island, where many Arctic birds nest, put off limits to oil and gas developers.

Competition for drilling in the Arctic has heated up in recent weeks, with Russia’s oil giant Rosneft announcing it had discovered its first Arctic oilfield on Sunday. Rosneft vowed earlier this month to invest some USD 4.41 billion in offshore drilling in the Arctic over the next five years.

News of Norway’s new licensing round also came as Statoil said on Tuesday that the Norwegian authorities had approved its plans to extend the lifespan of two ageing Norwegian Sea fields, Njord and Hyme, by 20 years, as well as to develop a new field, Bauge.

“The remaining resources on the Njord and Hyme field total 175 million barrels of oil equivalent,” the company said in a statement. “This corresponds to the reserves produced from the Njord field since first oil in in 1997. In addition, 73 million barrels of oil equivalent will be produced from Bauge.”

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