Norway’s Ministry of Energy has offered 57 new production licences to 19 companies under the APA 2025 (Awards in Predefined Areas) round on the country’s continental shelf, as Norway seeks to slow an expected decline in oil and gas output and sustain energy deliveries to Europe.
The offers are spread across all three offshore regions: 31 licences in the North Sea, 21 in the Norwegian Sea, and five in the Barents Sea. Each award comes with a binding work programme that requires either active maturation work or relinquishment of the acreage back to the state.
Energy minister Terje Aasland said Norway is Europe’s most important energy supplier, but that production is expected to begin declining in a few years, adding that new projects are needed to slow the decline and deliver as much output as possible.
The ministry said 13 of the 19 companies receiving acreage were awarded one or more operatorships. It also described the APA system as a tool to keep exploration and development moving in mature areas before existing offshore infrastructure is retired, supporting efficient resource recovery and value creation. The largest recipients named included Equinor, Aker BP, DNO, Vår Energi, and Harbour Energy, alongside a wider group of international and independent players active offshore.
Norway introduced APA in 2003 to provide predictability and maintain exploration momentum in mature basins. The ministry said the APA area now covers most opened and available acreage and is expanded annually based on geological maturity and infrastructure considerations. For APA 2025, applications were submitted by 20 companies after the round was formally announced in May 2025, and the awards were finalized following technical and commercial evaluation.
