Norway Awards Oil Permits To 11 Firms In Arctic Licensing Round

Norway has awarded 12 oil and gas exploration licenses to Equinor and 10 other companies focused mostly on the Arctic, where Oslo believes it has the greatest potential for significant new discoveries.

Nine of the licenses are located in the Barents Sea and three in the Norwegian Sea off central Norway, the Ministry of Oil and Energy said June 18.

“This licensing round confirms that the oil companies see opportunities for further profitable petroleum activity in the north,” Oil and Energy Minister Terje Soeviknes said in a statement.

Equinor, formerly known as Statoil, was awarded five licenses and will participate as a non-operating participant in a further two.