On January 13, 2026, Norway’s Ministry of Energy awarded 57 new offshore oil and gas exploration licenses to 19 companies as part of the annual Awards in Predefined Areas (APA) 2025 round. This allocation is intended to slow the expected decline in production on the Norwegian Continental Shelf and ensure Europe’s energy security.
North Sea: 31 licenses.
Norwegian Sea: 21 licenses.
Barents Sea: 5 licenses.
Equinor Received the most operatorships with 17.
Aker BP: Awarded 22 licenses total (12 as operator).
Vår Energi: Secured 14 licenses (6 as operator).
DNO: Allocated 17 assignments.
The government proposed adding another 70 blocks for next year’s mature areas allocation, including 38 in the Barents Sea.
Energy Minister Terje Aasland stated that new projects are essential to “slow the decline” as production is expected to fall in a few years.
Mature Focus: 20 of the new licenses are for additional acreage near existing production sites to leverage current infrastructure.
Postponement: A planned licensing round for “frontier regions” (the 26th round) has been postponed for further preparation.
Opposition: The licensing policy faces strong opposition from environmental groups and the Green Party, who protested at the Sandefjord industry conference where the awards were announced.
Note by Alessandro Bazzoni