The UK’s North Sea Transition Authority (NSTA) has announced that the country’s latest oil and gas licensing round attracted 115 bids, and that licenses would likely be awarded starting from the second quarter of 2023. This 33rd round attracted bids from 76 companies for 258 out of 931 blocks on offer in the British North Sea. The NSTA had identified four priority cluster areas in the Southern North Sea, which have known hydrocarbons, are close to infrastructure and have the potential to be developed quickly, as the United Kingdom is trying boost domestic hydrocarbon output to offer alternatives to Russian fuel to Europe.
The UK’s previous oil and gas licensing round, which took place in 2019, was slightly less successful with 104 bids for 245 blocks out of 768 on offer. For this 32nd round, the UK Oil & Gas Authority (OGA) awarded a total of 113 license areas to 65 companies, including Shell, BP, Total, Eni, Chrysaor, EnQuest, Neptune and Equinor.
As of 2021, the UK has proved oil reserves estimated at 2,500 mbl and proved gas reserves reaching 247 bcm. The country produced 32.5 bcm of natural gas and 41 Mt of crude oil in 2021.
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