“Without exploration and new discoveries, we will neither be able to maintain production of oil and gas over time, nor further develop the petroleum sector and all jobs in the industry,” Terje Aasland, the oil and energy minister, said in a statement.
In recent years, Norway has used APA rounds to significantly expand exploration on the Norwegian Continental Shelf, especially in the Arctic Barents Sea, despite protests over the impact that burning oil and gas has on the global climate. The Norwegian Petroleum Directorate, in a separate statement, said almost all companies active on the Norwegian Continental Shelf had submitted bids, with increased interest in the Barents Sea. It did not say how many blocks companies had bid for.