Initiates 21st licensing round

Mr. Terje Riis-Johansen, Norwegian Minister of Petroleum and Energy, has invited oil companies to nominate blocks that ought to be included in the 21st licensing round on the Norwegian continental shelf. The invitations have been sent to all licensees on the shelf and pre-qualified companies.

Numbered licensing rounds include mainly frontier areas of the Norwegian continental shelf with potential for large discoveries.

With the 21st licensing round I seek to give the oil industry access to attractive areas which are less explored. It is important to provide the industry access to frontier areas through predictable licensing rounds. This contributes to maintain the activity level on the Norwegian continental shelf and secure the shelf’s attractiveness. The nominated areas will hopefully contribute to long term value creation in the petroleum industry, says Terje Riis-Johansen, Norwegian Minister of Petroleum and Energy.

The companies’ nominations will be an important part of which the decision is based upon when the Ministry announces the 21st licensing round. This announcement is intended to take place before summer 2010. Awards of new production licenses are planned for spring 2011.

The deadline for submitting nominations is noon, 13 January 2010.