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Norway awards 56 production licenses in APA 2016 as 2016 output rises

The Ministry of Petroleum and Energy of Norway has announced that 29 companies had been selected to develop 56 new production licences on the Norwegian continental shelf in the Awards in predefined areas 2016 (APA 2016). The APA 2016 included the predefined areas with blocks in the North Sea (36), the Norwegian Sea (17) and the Barents Sea (6).



Of the companies that applied, 29 will receive an offer of ownership interests in at least one production licence. Aker BP is taking part to 21 licenses, including 13 as an operator. Shell will participate in seven licenses (4 as an operator), Wellesley to eight licenses (3 as an operator) and ConocoPhillips to six licenses (3 as an operator).



In addition, the NPD released preliminary production figures for December 2016, indicating a total oil production of around 233 mcm oil equivalent in 2016, including 94 mcmoe of oil, 22 mcmoe of NGL and condensate and nearly 117 mcmoe of gas. This represents a 3.4% increase in crude oil production, while NGL, condensate and gas production remained stable (-0.3% for gas).