Equinor has been awarded 35 new production licenses in Norway's latest APA round, reinforcing its long-term strategy to sustain offshore oil and gas output.
Equinor has been awarded 35 new production licenses on the Norwegian continental shelf NCS as part of Norway’s 2026 Awards in Predefined Areas APA licensing round, the company said Tuesday. The licenses span the North Sea , Norwegian Sea, and Barents Sea , with Equinor named operator on 17 of them.
The new acreage strengthens Equinor’s exploration pipeline at a time when Norway’s offshore sector is under pressure to offset natural production decline while maintaining stable energy supplies to Europe. Twenty-one of the licenses are located in the mature North Sea, ten in the Norwegian Sea, and four in the Barents Sea, reflecting a balance between near-field exploration and frontier opportunities. Equinor said the awards support its ambition to sustain a high level of drilling activity, with plans to drill between 20 and 30 exploration wells annually. Roughly 80% of that activity will be focused near existing infrastructure, enabling faster and lower-cost tie-backs, while the remaining 20% will target less-explored areas and new geological concepts. The APA system has long been a cornerstone of Norway’s petroleum policy, encouraging incremental exploration around established infrastructure to maximize resource recovery and extend the life of offshore hubs. For Equinor, access to new acreage is critical as it seeks to develop between six and eight new subsea projects per year through 2035 - significantly above current levels. The company reported a strong exploration performance in 2025, with 14 discoveries from 31 wells drilled, including seven operated by Equinor. Those finds added an estimated 125 million barrels of recoverable oil equivalent, underscoring the continued prospectivity of the NCS despite its maturity. Equinor has repeatedly emphasized that new discoveries are essential to curb the expected decline in Norwegian oil and gas output over the next decade. The company is targeting production of around 1.2 million barrels of oil and gas per day from the NCS in 2035, roughly in line with 2020 levels—an ambitious goal that hinges on sustained exploration success. The new licenses also align with Equinor’s broader role in European energy security. As Europe’s largest supplier of gas, the company operates a vast offshore and onshore infrastructure network, including gas processing plants, pipelines, terminals, and an LNG facility. Phasing new oil and gas volumes into this existing system remains a core pillar of its strategy. Technology is playing an increasing role in that effort. Equinor has highlighted the use of artificial intelligence and machine learning to accelerate seismic interpretation, improve well planning, and support real-time decision-making, tools that are particularly valuable when exploring complex or lesser-known geology. While the energy transition continues to reshape investment priorities across Europe, Norway’s offshore sector remains a critical source of reliable supply. Equinor’s latest APA awards signal that exploration on the NCS will remain a central part of that equation well into the next decade. By Charles Kennedy for Oilprice.com
Norway Oil And Gas Norwegian Continental Shelf APA Licensing Offshore Exploration North Sea Barents Sea European Energy Security Subsea Developments Oil Production
United Kingdom Latest News, United Kingdom Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
Uniper Secures Major Green Ammonia Supply Deal With India's AM GreenUniper has signed a long-term binding agreement to offtake up to 500,000 tonnes per year of renewable ammonia from AM Green's projects in India, starting in 2028.
Read more »
New Year, New Venture: Support for new business entrepreneurs in 2026Shropshire Growth Hub, in collaboration with the British Business Bank, will host “New Year, New Venture” on Thursday 22 January 2026 at Shrewsbury Town Football Club.
Read more »
Vitol and Trafigura Secure U.S. Licenses to Trade Venezuelan OilTop independent oil traders Vitol and Trafigura are offering Venezuelan crude to refiners in China and India for March delivery after obtaining special U.S. licenses to market the oil.
Read more »
Norway Awards 57 New Licenses to Maintain Oil and Gas ProductionNorway on Tuesday offered 57 new production licenses to 19 companies in the annual licensing round for acreage in the best-explored areas on the Norwegian continental shelf
Read more »
Glasgow's hottest new restaurant Sticks’n’Sushi debuts new underground cocktail barThe sleek late-night spot, tucked beneath its George Square restaurant, marks the Danish-Japanese group’s first-ever standalone cocktail bar.
Read more »
Brand new Arsenal coach suggests new set-piece tactics in message shared to social mediaThe inside track on the football stories that matter
Read more »