The total area of sea under Norwegian jurisdiction is 2 279 965 km², which is almost 6 times the size of mainland Norway, Svalbard and Jan Mayen. About half the area of seabed consists of sedimentary rock that may contain petroleum. The extent of this area is indicated by the black line on the map.
The map gives an overview of the current status of the Norwegian continental shelf. The green areas have been opened for petroleum activity by the Storting (Norwegian parliament). The yellow areas have also been opened, but are subject to special arrangements as described in the white paper the white paper no. 20 (2019-2020). The areas outlined in red are covered by the system of awards in predefined areas (APA).
Licensing position for the Norwegian continental shelf
Source: Norwegian Offshore Directorate
Awards in predefined areas
Announcement and applicants
The authorities have received applications from 21 companies in the Awards in predefined areas (APA) 2024. The deadline for applications was 3 September.
The Ministry of Energy announced APA 2024 on 8 May 2024, encompassing the predefined areas with blocks in the Norwegian Sea, Norwegian Sea and Barents Sea.
Awards are expected during the first quarter of 2025.
More detailed information can be found on the Norwegian Offshore Directorate's webpage.
Offered awards
16 January 2024, 24 companies have been offered ownership interests in a total of 62 production licences in the APA 2023. Of the 62 production licences, 29 are in the North Sea, 25 in the Norwegian Sea and eight in the Barents Sea. 16 of the production licences are additional acreage to existing production licences. More detailed information can be found on the Norwegian Offshore Directorate's webpage.
25th Licensing Round
Public consultation and announcement
In June 2020, the Ministry of Energy proposed announcing nine areas in the 25th licensing round, distributed over eight areas in the Barents Sea and one area in the Norwegian Sea. The proposal has been submitted for public consultation. The deadline for consultation comments was at 26 August 2020. A total of 30 consultation statements were received.
The 25th licensing round was announced on 19 November 2020. This round comprises a total of 136 blocks/parts of blocks, 125 in Barents Sea and 11 in Norwegian Sea. The deadline for applications was set for 23 February 2021 where seven companies have applied for new production licences.
Offered awards
On the 23th of June 2021 seven companies received offers of ownership interests in a total of four production licenses on the Norwegian Shelf in the 25th licensing round. Three of the licenses are in the Barents Sea and one license is offered in the Norwegian Sea. More detailed information can be found on the Norwegian Offshore Directorate's webpage.
Information about previous licensing rounds is found at the Norwegian Offshore Directorate's webpage. See the article about Exploration policy for more information about the licensing system.