Nomination of blocks for the 24th licensing round

The numbered licensing rounds cover the opened, frontier acreage on the Norwegian shelf, where the potential for making large discoveries is greatest.

The companies’ nominations represent acquisition of knowledge and will form an essential part of the decision basis for the Ministry of Petroleum and Energy’s assessments when announcing acreage in the 24th licensing round.

The Ministry’s proposed announcement will be submitted for consultation. The announcement of the 24th licensing round is expected before summer 2017.

All areas that are open for petroleum activities can be nominated in the 24th licensing round, with the exception of:

• Areas that are already covered by a licence
• Areas that are included in the APA scheme (Awards in Pre-defined Areas)
• Areas that are restricted according to the management plans for sea areas and areas where the government has obligations to its collaboration parties

The blocks the Ministry is interested in receiving nominations for in the 24th licensing round are shown on the map, see link at top right.

Nominated blocks are divided into two categories – “interesting” and “very interesting”. The total number of nominated blocks should be limited to a maximum of 15. The nominated blocks must be accompanied by a brief description according to the template provided in the guidelines.

The Ministry of Petroleum and Energy’s deadline for nominations is 30 November 2016 at 1200 hours. A copy of the nomination must be sent to the Norwegian Petroleum Directorateat the same time.

Read more:

• Press release from the Ministry of Petroleum and Energy 29 August 2016
• Guidelines for nominating blocks for the 24th licensing round

Link to shape-files

• 24th round - nominated

Maps

• The Barents Sea (pdf)
• The Norwegian Sea (pdf)
• The North Sea (pdf)