UK Awards 12 North Sea Licences

Twelve new licences have been offered for award to 11 companies, said UK upstream regulator Oil and Gas Authority (OGA) July 13.

They are part of the 2016 Supplementary Offshore Licensing Round, which closed for applications March 7, and in which 14 blocks were offered.

Locations varied across the UK Continental Shelf (UKCS), from the southern North Sea to east of Shetland. The round offered blocks under flexible terms, enabling applicants to define a licence duration and phasing. Fifteen applications were received. 

A map can be viewed here that shows the 12 blocks and the successful bidders: US producer Apache (two blocks); new independent Speedwell Energy (also two) founded by CEO Richard Strachan, previously with Bridge Energy; plus Statoil, Shell, BP, Maersk Oil, Enquest, Jetex, Actis and IOG (each one).

OGA's previous round, the 29th Offshore Licensing Round, awarded 25 licences for 111 frontier blocks or part-blocks to 17 companies in March 2017. The next one will be the 30th Offshore Licensing Round, expected to be announced during 3Q 2017, which will focus on mature areas of the UK offshore.

Mark Smedley