Det norske oljeselskap ASA has been offered nine new licenses, whereof two operatorships in the North Sea, in the Awards in Pre-defined Areas (APA) 2014.

The Ministry of Petroleum and Energy today announced the awards of new licenses in mature areas on the Norwegian Continental Shelf. Applications from 47 companies were submitted, and 43 companies were offered ownership interests in one or more production licenses. 23 of the companies were awarded operatorships.

Det norske has been awarded a total of nine ownership interests and the role as operator in two new licenses.

This is a very good outcome for Det norske. We are very pleased with the awards of ownership interests in nine licenses whereof two new operatorships," says Senior Vice President for Exploration, Gro G. Haatvedt.

The APA licensing rounds cover the most explored areas on the Norwegian shelf. The 54 production licences are distributed over the North Sea with 34 licences, the Norwegian Sea with 16, and the Barents Sea with four.

Det norske was awarded eight licenses in the North Sea and one in the Barents Sea.

"We have through this APA licensing round strengthened our position in the North Sea, which is a very important area for Det norske. This also reinforce our role as operator in this area," says Haatvedt.

The APA 2014 was announced by the Minister of Petroleum and Energy, Mr. Tord Lien at the Sandefjord Conference Tuesday January 20. At the same time, the 23rd licensing round was announced.

Facts:

There are two types of licensing rounds on the Norwegian Continental Shelf:

-Awards in Predefined Areas (APA), which includes the mature parts of the Norwegian shelf, with known geology and good infrastructure. These awards are
announced every year.

-The ordinary licensing round, which includes the immature parts of the Norwegian shelf. These rounds are usually announced every other year.

The first licensing round (concession round) was announced in 1965. Nine companies and groups of companies were awarded 22 production licenses in the very first concession round.

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