Numbers and facts

Fields in operation

As of 27 June, there were 93 producing fields on the Norwegian shelf. The Aker BP-operated Hanz field in the North Sea came on stream on 20 April.

Development plans

• The authorities have received a plan for development and operation (PDO) for the OKEA-operated Bestla project (development of 31/7-1 (Brasse)) in the North Sea.
• The PDO for the Equinor-operated Eirin field in the North Sea has been approved.
• Two applications for PDO exemptions have been submitted; these related to the Lambda Statfjord and Cook projects on Oseberg in the North Sea, and Sognefjord Øst on Brage in the North Sea.
• The authorities have granted a PDO exemption for Solan, which is a deposit on Gullfaks Sør in the North Sea.

Wells

As of 20 June, 24 exploration wells and 60 production wells had been spudded.

Discoveries

Seven discoveries have been made so far this year, two in the Barents Sea and five in the North Sea.

Production from 1 January through 31 May

All figures are in million standard cubic metres of oil equivalent (Sm3 o.e.)

See production figures here.

Activity

There are 27 projects under way that have been processed by the authorities, including approved PDOs. The major projects on fields has made the most significant contribution to reserve growth.

Of these projects, Johan Castberg and Balder Future are expected to start up before the end of 2024. Projects that were approved in 2023 are well under way. Yggdrasil is the largest, but there are many important projects in all sea areas on the shelf.

Several projects are also underway linked to electrification and reduced emissions, including approval of the amended plans for Melkøya and Njord/Draugen in 2023. There are also projects on Troll, Oseberg and Sleipner.

Capture and storage of CO2

Two licensing rounds were announced during the first six months of the year. In the first of these, offers have been extended to six companies for four licences.

Three areas in the North Sea were announced in the second round, where the application deadline is 29 August. As of 27 June, there are 6 active exploration licences and one exploitation licence on the Norwegian shelf. Licences have been awarded to a total of 13 companies.

There is significant interest in storing CO2 in the subsurface on the Norwegian shelf, and it’s likely that more announcements will be made this year.

Seabed minerals

The Norwegian Offshore Directorate, on assignment from the Ministry of Energy, has started the process of facilitating the first licensing round. The plan is to announce the round this autumn.

The Directorate has completed three mapping expeditions this year, in cooperation with UiT The Arctic University of Norway and the University of Bergen. The objective of the expeditions was to map mineral deposits on the seabed.

The Directorate is the Ministry’s expert authority in the work to assess areas and applications. At the same time, the authorities are continuing their work to map mineral resources and the environment.

Read more about seabed minerals here.

Offshore wind

The Norwegian Offshore Directorate has conducted subsurface surveys for offshore wind in two areas in the North Sea, on assignment for the Ministry of Energy.

The first phase of the surveys in the southern part of the North Sea (Sørlige Nordsjø II - eastern part) was started in the autumn of 2022 and completed in 2023.   ​

As a participant in a broad-based group of directorates, the Norwegian Offshore Directorate has taken part in identifying areas on the shelf that may be technically suitable for offshore wind, and where conflicts of interest will be relatively minor. The Norwegian Water Resources and Energy Directorate (NVE) is leading this effort.

Sharing data

Over the last couple of years, the Norwegian Offshore Directorate has made many thousand datasets from relinquished areas on the shelf available to interested parties.

This was a very extensive effort which will allow companies to access much more data, which will in turn contribute to increased value creation on the shelf. The vast majority of this data is available in Diskos.

The effort to release data continues, based on the time restrictions that apply for each individual dataset.

*There are several finds in 7/11-27 S (Cuvette). See well report for volume estimate.