- Norway has a potential for maintaining its oil production for another 50 years and its gas production for another 100 years. Such a long-term development course will provide large income for the Norwegian society, but is dependent on our ability to meet the challenges the petroleum activities are facing. One of the main tasks is to efficiently discover new petroleum resources. This is a challenge for both the authorities and the oil companies, says Mr. Einar Steensnæs, Minister of Petroleum and Energy.

In the White Paper the government has introduced several new policy measures to meet the challenges the petroleum activities are facing. In order to achieve the long-term goals, the oil industry has to strive to make their exploration activity as efficient as possible and at the same time show due consideration for the environment and the fisheries. The industry's development and implementation of new technology, e.g. within seismic surveys, interpretation of seismic data and drilling, will be of crucial importance in this regard.

The authorities must give the industry access to new, prosperous acreage through licensing rounds in areas opened for petroleum activities. The deep-water areas in the western parts of the Norwegian Sea are of special interest, with potential for new, large discoveries. The northern areas outside Lofoten and in the Barents Sea are also very interesting for the oil and gas industry. However, in the government's opinion, there is a need for more information prior to expansion of the petroleum activities in these areas. The government has therefore initiated an impact assessment study of all-year petroleum activities outside Lofoten and in the Barents Sea.

- Consideration for the environment and fisheries is important as the petroleum activities are moving north. I believe that the petroleum industry is able to develop necessary technology and make necessary adjustments that will allow co-existence with the interests of the environment and the fisheries, within a framework of sustainable development, says Minister Steensnæs.

Exploration in mature areas of the Norwegian Continental Shelf (NCS)

- Today there is a great diversity in the degree of maturity in the different parts of the NCS. In mature areas it is still possible to discover new, small resources that can be developed profitably if they are tied into already existing installations. It is important that these smaller fields are found and developed before the existing installations are shut down. This constitutes a challenge, to the licensing system in mature areas. The government is therefore introducing a new policy with predefined exploration areas in mature parts of the NCS, says Mr. Steensnæs.

Through the exploration and licensing policy the authorities aim to facilitate and encourage exploration and development of smaller fields in mature areas within the life span of existing infrastructure. To achieve this, the licensing system in these areas has to be predictable and efficient. In order to meet this challenge, the government has decided to establish a predefined exploration area, where annual awards will take place. Previously, the industry has had to wait for the announcement of acreage for each licensing round before knowing what areas will be available in the upcoming licensing round. With the new system, the industry will know in advance the available acreage in mature areas in the coming years. They will also have the opportunity to submit applications for production licenses throughout the year, when it is most suitable to apply for them. Every autumn the authorities will process the applications submitted during the year. This system will give the industry increased predictability and improve their ability for long-term planning.

The establishment of this predefined exploration area will be done according to the routines used for including acreage in ordinary licensing rounds, where due care is given to the environment and the fisheries. As new areas are maturing, it is natural to include these in the predefined area.

The result of this system will be a licensing policy distinguishing more distinctively between mature and immature areas. It will also increase the interest for developing smaller fields on the NCS. The government also hopes that this system will attract new companies with focus on these types of resources.

The Ministry will in the future, to a larger extent than previously, adjust the length of the initial period and the content of the work program to area specific conditions. In order to ensure efficient exploration, and to avoid accumulation of acreage amongst the companies, the main rule will be relatively short deadlines for completing the work programs.