Announces 53 new blocks in the Barents Sea

The Norwegian government announces a total of 87 new block for exploration; 34 in the Norwegian Sea and 53 in the Barents Sea. – Decisive for good resource management, says Petroleum and Energy Minister Terje Søviknes.

The Ministry of Petroleum and Energy today announces the first round of licenses this year for the geologically best known areas of the Norwegian Continental Shelf – TFO 2017 (Allocation in predefined areas).

- Offering the petroleum companies new exploration opportunities at a predictable and high speed is a pillar of the government’s petroleum policy. The extension of the TFO area for TFO 2017 is the second-largest ever and the largest one ever for the Barents Sea. This is decisive for good resource management, Petroleum and Energy Minister Terje Søviknes says in a press release.

Following up the government’s policies

- The announcing of the TFO 2017 demonstrates that we follow up on the government’s petroleum policy and ocean strategy. The extension will contribute to increased employment, activities and creation of values from our ocean areas, the Minister continues.

Allocation in predefined areas, known by its Norwegian acronym TFO, is one out of two equal arrangements for awarding exploration licenses on the Norwegian Continental Shelf. The system was introduced in 2003 in order to facilitate a state-of-the-art exploration of the geologically most familiar areas of the shelf.

Geologically familiar areas

The TFO area covers the geologically most familiar areas on the Norwegian shelf. In these areas, the expected size of discoveries is decreasing. Exploration is, by and large, aimed at minor discoveries that cannot justify an independent development, however, that may be profitable when seen in connection with other discoveries and/or can exploit existing or planned infrastructure. It is thus crucial to have a state-of-the-art exploration of these areas.

Predictability as to which areas can be applied for in a TFO and a steady supply of new areas is vital for achieving an efficient exploration. The TFO allocation rounds are thus organized annually. There is an annual evaluation about whether the area covered by the TFO arrangement is to be extended. Petroleum-based considerations decide whether new areas are to be added to the TFO area. The area is expanded as new areas are explored.