There are two systems for awarding licences on the Norwegian Continental Shelf. The annual system for the awarding of predefined areas (APA) in the mature parts of the Norwegian Continental Shelf and the ordinary concession rounds, which are usually arranged every other year.

North Energy has actively participated in all rounds for the awarding of licences since the company was started and has submitted successful applications in each round. In APA 2009 the result was three licences, a year earlier it two licences were awarded and in the 21th concession round, the company received one licence.

North Energy holds in total 22 licences

North Energy in the Barents Sea

The fact that we are interested in the Barents Sea is a consequence of the company being a Northern Norwegian enterprise. All activity in this area is in principle more demanding than in the North Sea and the Norwegian Sea due to climate, light conditions, challenging geology and a dearth of  infrastructure. North Energy has a long-term perspective and desire to make finds that lead to development and production with direct effects and add-on effects for our part of the country. The developments the previously disputed areas in the Barents Sea, is also creating exciting prospects for this area.

North Energy's employees comprise a highly competent exploration environment. In addition to using the industry's best tools for processing seismic data, the company is expanding its exploration competence with the development of new methods for assessing the risks of exploration prospects. In the eastern part of the Barents Sea, the company is also seeking to evaluate Russian exploration models.

Mature areas

The Norwegian Sea is also an important area for North Energy. In this area it is possible to come into production more quickly, given commercially exploitable finds, since the infrastructure already exists in the area.

In the so-called mature areas, where comprehensive activities have been conducted, there is a desire to ”vacuum up” before the infrastructure is permanently dismantled. No larger finds are expected here, but there are possibilities for rapid and profitable production by exploiting the infrastructure, using Aasgard for example.