Norway prepares its first major licensing round for oil and gas in years

Norway's Energy Minister said Friday that he was preparing to launch a round of oil and gas licenses on the Norwegian continental shelf. This will be the first new offer of drilling permits for frontier areas which have not been explored since 2021.

In a statement, Labour Party Minister Terje Aasland said that Norway will be a reliable supplier of oil to Europe for a long time. The Norwegian continental shelf is also expected to continue creating value and jobs in Norway.

The exact date of the awards was not immediately known.

In 2021, the government agreed to a 4-year moratorium on frontier exploring. It would limit new acreage awards to areas close to existing fields. This was in exchange for the support of a small left-wing political party in parliament.

The minority Labour Government holds a

The narrow Lead

In opinion polls, the centre-right parties are ahead of their counterparts in the lead up to the parliamentary elections due on September 8

Last year, Norway's petroleum exports, which pump around 4 million barrels equivalent of oil per day, half of it as natural gas, and the other half as crude and liquids, accounted for 60% of the country's total export revenues.

The industry is expected to shrink in 2030 unless there are new discoveries in this sector, which represents directly and indirectly around 10% of the private-sector jobs.

Aasland stated, "In order to fulfill our commitment, we need to explore more." (Reporting and editing by Louise Heavens, Terje Solsvik)

(source: Reuters)