APA 2019
All you need to know about the Awards in Predefined Areas (APA) 2019.
Awards in APA 2019
On 14 February 2020, the King-in-Council awarded ownership interests in the APA 2019 licencing round (Awards in Predefined Areas).
Of the 69 new production licences, 33 are in the North Sea, 23 in the Norwegian Sea and 13 in the Barents Sea.
See relevant files for downloading in the right hand margin.
Licence shares offered to 28 companies
14 January 2020, 28 companies have been offered ownership interests in a total of 69 production licences on the Norwegian Shelf in the Awards in Predefined Areas (APA) 2019.
Press release from the The Norwegian Ministry of Petroleum and Energy:
APA 2019: New High Award Secures Further Exploration of the Norwegian Continental Shelf
Interest in exploration
There was continued significant interest in exploration in mature areas in APA 2019 with applications from 33 companies. Read more:
Continued significant interest in exploration in mature areas in APA 2019
Press release from the Ministry of Petroleum and Energy on the interest for APA 2019
Application process
The Ministry of Petroleum and Energy announced APA 2019 on 29 May 2019, encompassing the predefined areas with blocks in the North Sea, Norwegian Sea and Barents Sea.
- Ministry of Petroleum and Energy press release
- Invitation to apply for production licences for petroleum
Application deadline
The deadline to apply for APA 2019 was Tuesday, 27 August 2019 at 12:00. Applicants are encouraged to submit in good time before the deadline. Awards are expected during the first quarter of 2020.
Available acreage
Since APA 2018, the predefined areas (APA acreage) have been expanded by 5 blocks in the North Sea, 37 blocks in the Norwegian Sea and 48 blocks in the Barents Sea. Applications can be submitted for all available blocks or parts of blocks within the predefined areas.
Blocks or parts of blocks that become available less than 3 months prior to the application deadline, cannot be applied for. That means that all acreage approved for relinquishment in the period up to three months prior to the application deadline is considered to be announced as of the application deadline.
Relinquished area is included on a continuous basis in the predefined area on the NPD’s interactive Factmap, and maps covering the final area that can be applied for will be provided as soon as practically possible. See links below.
Extended map updates
The NPD’s interactive maps are closed for new updates from Thursday 13 June 2019, thus including as many relinquished licenses as possible in the acreage available for APA 2019.
Map of area available for application in predefined areas as at the announcement date:
Links
- Map in pdf: Predefined areas at announcement date
- NPD’s interactive Factmap: Updated map of announced areas
- Block coordinates for announced areas
- Award statistics (shape file)
How to apply in APA 2019
Each company that applies for production licences in APA 2019 must submit the following to the Norwegian Petroleum Directorate and the Ministry of Petroleum and Energy:
1. Application letter, company information and receipt for paid application fee
2. Application(s)
The submission to the Norwegian Petroleum Directorate (NPD) is via L2S Authority Communication.
The submission to the Ministry of Petroleum and Energy (MPE) shall be sent in any electronic format. L2S Authority Communication is one possible solution for submission this year.
1. Application letter, company information and receipt for paid application fee
The formal application letter with an overview of all applications the company is participating in, both individually and as a participant in group application(s), shall be submitted together with the company information.
See Guide to Application Letter from Company APA 2019 for more information about what the application letter must contain and Guide to Company Information APA 2019.
An application fee of NOK 123,000 must be paid for each application to APA 2019, including applications for additional acreage. When several companies join in a group application to apply for a production licence, this counts as one application. One of the members of the group pays the fee.
Payment shall be made to the Norwegian Petroleum Directorate, account no.: 7694.05.00326, marked "APA2019 (block number)". A copy of the receipt must be enclosed with the application letter from the company.
2. Application(s)
Each application for a production licence in APA 2019 must be submitted in electronic format. See Guide to Application for Production Licence APA 2019.
Guidelines
- Guide to Application for Production Licence APA 2019
- Guide to Company Information APA 2019
- Guide to Application Letter from Company APA 2019
Forms that must be completed
- ApplicationData (updated 05.08.2019)
- CompanyInformation (updated 05.08.2019)
- Discovery_and_Prospect_data
Shape files that must be included
Other application information
Available data
Contacts in the NPD
Kristina.Hansen@npd.no, tel. +47 51 87 68 10
Tania.Hildebrand-Habel@npd.no, tel. +47 51 87 60 90
Tone.Mydland@npd.no, tel. +47 51 87 67 57 (application submission)
Updated: 13/04/2021