Norway's oil ministry awarded 56 offshore exploration licences on Jan. 17 in a bid to lift output from acreage located near existing oil and gas fields.
A total of 29 companies won stakes in the annual award of acreage in so-called mature areas, or areas already opened for exploration, that aims to ensure maximum utilization of past investments in platforms, pipes and other infrastructure.
A year ago, the ministry awarded 56 exploration licenses to 36 companies in a similar round of awards. A total of 33 firms applied for acreage, down from 43 companies in the previous round.
Of the 56 licences, 36 were in the North Sea, 17 were in the Norwegian Sea and three were in the Barents Sea.
The biggest winner was Statoil ASA (NYSE: STO) with 29 licenses, including 16 operatorships, while Aker BP came in second with 21 licenses, of which 13 were operatorships.
Others that received one or more operatorships include Lundin, Eni, ConocoPhillips (NYSE: COP), Royal Dutch Shell Plc (NYSE: RDS.A), Total and Wintershall, among others.
In a separate press release, Statoil reported Jan. 17 that it made a new oil and gas discovery near Norne that could hold between 20 million barrels (MMbbl) and 80 MMbbl of resources.
Statoil said in that press release that the drilling of the Cape Vulture well in License 128 began in December 2016, and that drilling of the well was a result of development of a new concept for exploration of the Nordland Ridge.
Statoil also said that it operates License 128 and License 128D with a 64% share, while partner Petoro holds 24.5% interest and partner Eni holds 11.5% interest.