Equinor Awarded 27 New Norwegian Continental Shelf (NCS) Production Licenses

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(Editors at Energy Analytics Institute, 13.Jan.2025) — Norway’s Equinor was awarded 20 licenses in the North Sea, 6 in the Norwegian Sea and 1 in the Barents sea.

Equinor is the operator of 7 of the licenses and a partner in 20, the company said 13 Jan. 2025 in an official statement.

“There are still substantial resources on the Norwegian continental shelf (NCS). Together with our partners, we need to explore more to contribute to European energy security and maintain our position as a reliable supplier of oil and gas,” Equinor’s senior vice president for subsurface, the Norwegian continental shelf Jez Averty said in the statement.

“The annual award of pre-defined areas is crucial to ensure high export levels over time. We will continue to make robust investments, and our ambition is to drill around 250 exploration wells by 2035. In order to do this, we need regular access to acreage,” Averty said.

Equinor operates 35 offshore platforms that comprise an extensive network of amortized production, processing and export infrastructure. Discoveries in areas with existing infrastructure can be developed rapidly, at lower costs, and with lower greenhouse gas emissions from production and transport, the Norwegian company said in the statement.

“We have a significant portfolio of smaller discoveries near existing infrastructure. We’re working alongside the supplier industry to accelerate developments and reduce costs, which will ensure that several of these discoveries can come on stream even earlier,” Averty said.

“One good example is Eirin, which will be tied back to Gina Krog. This development was approved in January 2024, and we expect production to start in the end of 2025. The gas from Eirin will have very low production emissions, since the Gina Krog platform is electrified. Moreover, it will extend Gina Krog’s lifetime by seven years,” Averty said.

Equinor plans to prioritize solutions that yield low emissions.

“Despite most exploration wells being drilled near existing infrastructure, it is important that we also explore new areas and new ideas and concepts with the potential for more major discoveries. Our confidence in the Norwegian shelf remains strong and we are prepared to take steps to secure the future energy supply,” Averty said.

NCS exploration

Equinor operates or participates in 20-30 exploration wells on the NCS annually. 

Around 80% of the wells are located near existing infrastructure and in known geology, while the remaining 20% are new ideas that are being matured based on continuous development in our knowledge of the geology offshore, Equinor said in the statement.

“Existing fields are being depleted and produce less oil and gas over time. In order to meet our customers’ demands, we still need to look for new energy sources,” the company said.

Equinor said that additional wells are needed each year to uncover the remaining resources, as the number of barrels per well is far lower than was the case in the 1980s.

“Even as we move towards a net-zero future, the world still needs predictable, reliable, and stable energy supplies. Exploration is key to ensuring continuity in this regard,” Equinor said in the statement.

With 3 gas processing plants, 1 oil refinery, 2 oil terminals, an LNG plant and a pipeline network of nearly 9,000km, the Norwegian oil and gas infrastructure is strategically positioned to deliver energy to important markets in Europe and the UK, the company said.

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By Editors at Energy Analytics Institute. © 2025 Energy Analytics Institute (EAI). All Rights Reserved.

ENERGY ANALYTICS INSTITUTE (EAI) https://energy-analytics-institute.org

Energy Analytics Institute (EAI), formerly LatinPetroleum.com, is a Houston-established private organization with a satellite presence in Calgary, Mexico City and Venezuela where it operates under Editores LatinPetroleum SA. Since 1999, EAI has been a leader in energy news coverage of Latin America in particular. Coverage, run out of Latin America, now spans the world and encompasses nearly all energy and energy-related sectors.

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