Page 11 - EurOil Week 25 2021

EurOil POLICY EurOil

Norway dishes out frontier oil

and gas acreage

NORWAY NORWAY has awarded four exploration licences this month, inviting companies to submit offers
to seven oil companies in its latest numbered for 84 blocks mostly in the Barents Sea. A num-
Meanwhile Var Energi licensing round, after the government earlier this ber of companies drilled dry wells in the frontier
has made a significant month vowed to continue pumping oil and gas zone last year. But fortunes have been reversed
find in the North Sea. for decades to come, despite the global transition this year.
towards cleaner energies.
Three of the blocks were awarded in the Var Energi find
Arctic Barents Sea, while another was issued Var Energi reported a “significant” oil and gas
in the Norwegian Sea. The winners of the con- find this week in the mature Balder area of the
test were Royal Dutch Shell, Norway’s Equinor, North Sea, with work already underway to fast-
Japan’s Idemitsu, the UK’s Ineos, Sweden’s Lun- track the find’s development.
din, Austria’s OMV and Eni subsidiary Var The discovery, assessed to be between 60 and
Energi. 135mn barrels of oil equivalent (boe) in size, was
The 25th licensing round was announced in made at the King and Prince exploration wells
November 19, 2020, and the deadline for appli- that Var Energi drilled earlier this year. The com-
cations passed February 23, 2021. Unlike Nor- pany said the result proved there are “still oppor-
way’s annual APA rounds, which offer rights to tunities in the mature areas on the Norwegian
acreage in well-developed areas, its numbered Continental Shelf [NCS].”
rounds focus on frontier areas where risks are “Clearly, our near-field exploration strategy
higher but so are potential rewards. is paying off and is certainly an approach we will
In its new energy strategy, Norway’s govern- continue to pursue,” Var Energi’s CEO Torger
ment has said it will continue holding oil and Rod said in a statement.
gas licensing round for decades to come, and Var Energi holds a 90% interest in produc-
still expects to be producing hydrocarbons even tion licence 027 containing the discovery, while
after 2050, when many countries are striving to Mime Petroleum has the remaining 10%. The
produce net-zero emissions. pair consider the find commercial and will look
The latest numbered round did not generate to tie it back to existing infrastructure in the
as much interest in the last two, however, with Balder area. A development project is already
11 companies having sought acreage in the 24th underway to reduce the time from discovery to
contest in 2018 and 26 in the 23rd round in 2016. production by as much as possible, Var Energi
Equinor has been offered operatorship of two said.
licences in the Hoop area of the Barents Sea. Any “The discoveries fit in well with our area plans
future discoveries could be tied back to the Wist- and continue development of the Balder area as
ing field, the company said, which it is aiming to an important production hub for Var Energi,” the
take a final investment decision (FID) on devel- company’s vice-president for field development
oping by the end of 2022. and projects, Bjorn Thore Ribesen, commented.
“This award brings opportunities for explor- “We are in the process of revitalising the area and
ing volumes near planned infrastructure,” these will increase future value creation.”
Equinor said. “We will prioritise exploring for The exploration wells lie 6 km north of the
resources that meet our requirements both for Balder field and 3 km west of the Ringhorne
profitability and reduced carbon emissions.” platforms. These assets are undergoing redevel-
Norway kicked off its latest APA round earlier opment under Var Energi’s Balder X project. ™

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