Announcement from Norway concerning Directive 94/22/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 30 may 1994 on the conditions for granting and using authorisations for the prospection, exploration and production of hydrocarbons – Announcement of invitation to apply for petroleum production licences on the Norwegian Continental Shelf – Awards in Predefined Areas 2026
Date: 2026-07-02
Institutions: Norway
Subjects: European Economic Area, Norway, continental shelf, extraction of oil, hydrocarbon, petroleum exploration, public contract, security of supply








C_202603564EN.000101.fmx.xml












Official Journal of the European Union


EN
C series













C/2026/3564


2.7.2026







            ANNOUNCEMENT FROM NORWAY CONCERNING DIRECTIVE 94/22/EC OF THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND OF THE COUNCIL OF 30 MAY 1994 ON THE CONDITIONS FOR GRANTING AND USING AUTHORISATIONS FOR THE PROSPECTION, EXPLORATION AND PRODUCTION OF HYDROCARBONS
         
Announcement of invitation to apply for petroleum production licences on the Norwegian Continental Shelf – Awards in Predefined Areas 2026
(C/2026/3564)

The Norwegian Ministry of Energy hereby announces an invitation to apply for petroleum production licences in accordance with Directive 94/22/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 30 May 1994 on the conditions for granting and using authorizations for the prospection, exploration and production of hydrocarbons, Article 3, para 2, litra a).
Production licences will be awarded to companies registered in Norway or in another state party to the Agreement on the European Economic Area (the EEA-Agreement), or to natural persons domiciled in a state party to the EEA-Agreement.
Companies which are not licensees on the Norwegian Continental Shelf may be awarded production licences if they are prequalified as licensees on the Norwegian Continental Shelf.
Individual companies and companies applying as part of a group will be treated on equal terms by the Ministry. Both applicants submitting an individual application and applicants being part of a group submitting a joint application, will be considered as applicant for a production licence. The Ministry may, on the basis of applications submitted by groups or individual applicants, compose groups of licensees to be awarded a production licence, including removing applicants in a group application and adding individual applicants, as well as appoint the operator for such groups.
The award of participating interests in a production licence will be subject to the licensees’ entering into an Agreement for Petroleum Activities, including a Joint Operating Agreement and an Accounting Agreement.
Upon signing the said agreements the licensees will form a joint venture in which the size of their participating interest will at all times be identical to their participating interest in the production licence.
The licence documents will mainly be based on relevant documents from the Awards in Predefined Areas 2025. The aim is to make the main elements of any adjustments to the framework available to the potential applicants prior to the time of application.
If the production licence is stratigraphically divided over or below another production licence, the licensees of the two stratigraphically divided licences will also be required to enter into a stratigraphic joint operating agreement. The same shall apply if licences have been awarded, or are later awarded within the area of the production license, pursuant to the Regulation of December 5, 2014, No. 1517 relating to the exploitation of subsea reservoirs on the continental shelf for storage of CO2 and to the transportation of CO2 on the continental shelf.

Criteria for the award of a production licence

To promote good resource management and rapid and efficient exploration for and production of petroleum on the Norwegian Continental Shelf, including the composition of licence groups to ensure this, the following criteria shall apply to the award of participating interests in production licences and to the appointment of operator:






a)


The applicant's geological understanding of the geographical area in question, and how the licensees propose to perform efficient exploration for petroleum for the specific geographical area.










b)


The applicant(s) plan for production of potential petroleum resources in the specific geographic area, and how this may contribute to good area solutions.










c)


The relevant technical competence of the applicant, and how this may actively contribute to cost effective exploration and potential production of petroleum from the relevant geographical area.










d)


The applicant's experience on the Norwegian Continental Shelf or equivalent relevant experience from other areas.










e)


That the applicant has the satisfactory financial capacity to carry out exploration for and potential production of petroleum in the geographical area in question.










f)


If the applicant is or has been a licensee in a production licence, the Ministry may take into account any form of lack of efficiency or lack of accountability demonstrated by the applicant as a licensee. In the interest of national security, the Ministry may deny access to and the right to exercise petroleum activity if the applicant or licensee is, in fact, controlled by a state outside the EEA, or by citizens of such state.










g)


Production licences will mainly be awarded to a joint venture where at least one licensee have drilled at least one well on the Norwegian Continental Shelf as operator or have equivalent relevant operational experience outside the NCS.










h)


Production licences will as a main rule be awarded to two or more licensees, where at least one has experience as mentioned under g)










i)


The appointed operator for production licences in the Barents Sea shall have drilled at least one well on the Norwegian Continental Shelf as operator or have equivalent relevant operational experience outside the Norwegian Continental Shelf.










j)


For production licences in deep waters, both the appointed operator and at least one other licensees shall have drilled at least one well on the Norwegian Continental Shelf as operator or have equivalent relevant operational experience outside the Norwegian Continental Shelf. In these production licences, one licensee shall have drilled in deep waters as operator.










k)


For production licences where drilling of exploration wells in high pressure and/or high temperature (HTHP) is expected, the appointed operator and at least one other licensee shall have drilled at least one well on the Norwegian Continental Shelf as operator or have equivalent relevant operational experience outside the Norwegian Continental Shelf. In these production licences, one licensee shall have drilled a HTHP well as operator.





Blocks available for application

Applications for participating interests in production licences may be submitted for the blocks that are not licensed within the predefined area, as shown on the maps published by the Norwegian Offshore Directorate. It is also possible to apply for acreage that has been relinquished within the predefined area after the announcement in accordance with updated maps on the Norwegian Offshore Directorate’s interactive Factmaps that are found on the Norwegian Offshore Directorate’s web-page).
Each production licence may comprise one or more blocks or part of block(s). The applicants are requested to limit the application outline to areas where they have mapped prospectivity.
The full text of the announcement, including detailed maps of available areas may be found on the web-page of the Norwegian Offshore Directorate www.sodir.no/apa2026.
Applications for petroleum production licences shall be submitted electronically, for example through L2S, to





Ministry of Energy




P.O. Box 8148 Dep.




N-0033 OSLO




NORWAY




A copy shall be submitted electronically, for example through L2S, to
The Norwegian Offshore Directorate





P.O. Box 600




4003 STAVANGER




NORWAY





Deadline: 12.00 noon on 1 September 2026.

The awards of petroleum production licences in the Awards in Predefined Areas 2026 on the Norwegian Continental Shelf are planned to take place in the first quarter of 2027.


ELI: http://data.europa.eu/eli/C/2026/3564/oj
ISSN 1977-091X (electronic edition)