Norway awards 62 new oil, gas licenses

OSLO

Norway, Europe's biggest supplier of natural gas, has announced that it had awarded 62 new oil and gas exploration licenses, angering environmental groups.

The batch, divided between the North Sea (29), the Norwegian Sea (25) and the Barents Sea (8), is the largest awarded by the Scandinavian country in four years in so-called "mature" areas - meaning areas where there is already widespread production.

In 2022 only 47 licences were granted.

"This is important for both employment and value creation, as well as for facilitating Norway's role as a stable energy supplier to Europe,"Energy Minister Terje Aasland said. 

Norway supplanted Russia as Europe's main provider of natural gas following the outbreak of the war in Ukraine in 2022.

The announcement sparked the ire of environmental groups.

"At the climate summit in Dubai in December, the countries of the world agreed to transition away from coal, oil and gas," said Truls Gulowsen, leader of Friends of the Earth Norway. 

"But Norway is doing exactly the opposite... If oil companies make discoveries in these areas, it could contribute to emissions for many decades to come," he continued.

The licences were awarded to 24 companies, including Norwegian giants Equinor and Aker BP, as well as international players like TotalEnergies and Shell.

On the same day, Norway's energy ministry gave the go-ahead for the development of the Eirin gas field in the North Sea, a project run jointly by Equinor and Kuwait's KUFPEC.

Since 2021, the International Energy Agency (IEA) has urged countries to halt new oil exploration projects in order to limit global warming to 1.5 degrees celsius above pre-industrial levels.