The Norwegian Petroleum Directorate (NPD) has awarded 12 oil and gas licenses in 47 blocks on the Norwegian Continental Shelf (NCS) under the framework of the country's 24th licensing round, of which 3 in the Norwegian sea and 9 in the Barents sea. 102 blocks were initially made available, of which 9 were in the Norwegian Sea and 93 in the Barents Sea. 11 companies won acreage in the tender, which was launched in June 2017: Equinor won the lion's share and will take part to 7 licenses (5 as operator), while Shell will be the operator of one block. Aker BP will take part to 6 licenses, including two as the operator.
In January 2018, the NPD released its latest production forecast for Norway and estimated that the oil and gas production will increase until 2022 and could reach again the 2004 record levels. Total production is expected to remain stable in 2018 (slight reduction to 233 mcm oil equivalent). Crude oil production is forecast to decline by an additional 2%, to 1.55 mb/d, and to erode through 2020. After 2020, the Johan Sverdrup oil field will contribute to a new upswing in production. Gas production should continue to grow steadily through 2022, contributing to a global increase in oil and gas production (up to 256 mcm oil equivalent in 2022). In the long term (2030), oil and gas production should decline, from around 4 mboe/d in 2017 to 3.3 mboe/d in 2030.
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