Norway's Energy Minister has awarded stakes in 57 offshore oil and gas exploration licences to 19 companies as part of the annual licensing round (Awards in Predefined Areas (APA)), announcing plans to expand drilling acreage further in the coming year (Norway’s Energy Ministry statement, 13/01/2026). "Of the 57 production licenses offered in APA 2025, 31 are located in the North sea, 21 in the Norwegian sea, and five in the Barents sea."
Equinor received the largest share with 17 operatorships (participating in 35 licences), followed by Aker BP with 12 operatorships (22 licences), and Vaar Energi (a unit of Italy's Eni) with 6 out of 14. Other operatorships went to DNO, ConocoPhillips, Inpex, Okea, OMV, and Wellesley Petroleum.
Equinor reacted to the awards, stating in a press release: “a strong year has been completed with 14 discoveries in 2025, 7 of them Equinor operated. This amounts to approximately 125 million barrels of new recoverable oil equivalent, with a potential for even more” (Equinor press release, 13/01/2026). The company plans to drill 20-30 exploration wells annually.
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