Minerals Report - International Seabed Authority

The Norwegian offshore sedimentary basins cover about 1.4 million
km 2 . About 60 per cent are opened for petroleum activities, but only around
10 per cent are licensed. The areas not opened are coastal areas with
important fishing activities and the northern part of the Barents Sea, mainly
due to environmental reasons. This paper does not cover activities and
regulations related to the Svalbard archipelago where exploration for
petroleum also has been conducted but without success. So far, coal mining
has been the main activity on Svalbard.
Petroleum operations play a substantial role in Norway’s economy,
and contribute considerable revenues to the state. Norway’s sovereignty over
the NCS in respect of exploration for and production of sub-sea natural
resources was proclaimed on 31 May 1963. A new statute determined that the
state owns any natural resources on the shelf, and that the Crown alone is
authorized to award licenses for exploration and production. In the same
year, companies were granted permission to carry out preparatory surveys
and reconnaissance.
Agreements on dividing the North Sea in accordance with the median
line principle were reached by Norway with the UK in March 1965 and with
Denmark in December of the same year. The border towards Russia north in
the Barents Sea is still under negotiations.
The NCS is divided into quadrants, each comprising 12 blocks
covering 15 minutes of latitude and 20 minutes of longitude. The average
area of a North Sea block is about 600 km 2 . A licensee can cover more than
one block.
Norway’s first offshore licensing round was announced in 1965. The
first well was drilled off Norway in the summer of 1966. The first discovery
was made in 1967, and the first production of oil came in 1971. Today 46
fields are producing while production has ceased in 10 fields.
So far 16 licensing rounds have been conducted in addition to some
awards outside the regular rounds. 975 exploration wells have been drilled
and 230 discoveries have been made. A total of 264 licensees have been
awarded up through the years and 185 licensees are still active today. A total
INTERNATIONAL SEABED AUTHORITY 791