Norway’s Ministry of Petroleum and Energy received license applications from 20 companies for the latest licensing round for the most well-known exploration areas on the Norwegian continental shelf.
The deadline for applications for oil and gas companies to be considered for the Awards in Predefined Areas (APA) 2025 was Sept. 2.
The Ministry announced the 2025 APA on May 9, 2025. For APA 2025, the area has been expanded to include all or parts of 76 blocks — eight in the Norwegian Sea and 68 in the Barents Sea.
“It is encouraging to see that there is still significant interest in exploring new acreage in mature areas of the Norwegian continental shelf. The interest spans all sea regions, which demonstrates that there are many opportunities to make profitable discoveries from the south to the north of the shelf,” said Kalmar Ildstad, director of regulations, license, and area management, Norwegian Offshore Directorate.
Production license awards are expected to be announced early 2026.
APA 2025 applicants
Aker BP ASA
Concedo AS
ConocoPhillips Skandinavia AS
DNO Norway AS
Equinor Energy AS
Harbour Energy Norge AS
INPEX Idemitsu Norge AS
Japex Norway AS
Lime Petroleum AS
OKEA ASA
OMV Norway AS
ORLEN Upstream Norway AS
Pandion Energy AS
Petrolia NOCO AS
Repsol Norway AS
Source Energy AS
Sval Energi AS
TotalEnergies EP Norway AS
Vår Energi ASA
Wellesley Petroleum AS