Norway Prepares First Major Oil, Gas Licensing Round in Years

(Reuters) – Norway’s energy minister said on Friday he is preparing to launch a new oil and gas licensing round on the Norwegian continental shelf, the first offer of new drilling permits in unexplored frontier regions since 2021.

“Norway will be a long-term supplier of oil and gas to Europe, while the Norwegian continental shelf will continue to create value and jobs for our country,” Minister of Energy Terje Aasland of the Labour Party said in a statement.

It was not immediately clear when awards could be made.

The government in 2021 agreed to a four-year moratorium on frontier exploration, limiting the awards of new acreage to areas near existing fields in return for backing in parliament of a smaller left-wing party.

The minority Labour government holds a narrow lead over centre-right parties in opinion polls ahead of an election for parliament due on September 8.

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Norway, which pumps around four million barrels of oil equivalent per day, around half in the form of natural gas and the rest as crude and other liquids, last year got 60% of its export revenue from the petroleum sector.

But with many ageing fields, production is set to decline in the 2030s unless new discoveries are made in the industry, which directly and indirectly represents around 10% of private-sector employment.

“If we are to deliver on our commitment, we must find more, and in order to find we must explore,” Aasland said.

Reporting by Terje Solsvik, Editing by Louise Heavens