New North Sea licence awards

Industry: Oil and Gas Authority chief says UK basin is seeing improving levels of interest

A “renewed attractiveness” is driving operator interest in the North Sea energy sector.

Andy Samuel, chief executive of the Oil and Gas Authority (OGA), said there had been a rise in interest in opportunities on the UK Continental Shelf (UKCS).

The mature basin has been under pressure since the oil price collapse, with thousands of jobs having been lost and investment cut back.

However, Mr Samuel said the North Sea was starting to see higher levels of activity. He was speaking as OGA awarded 12 licences to 10 companies in the supplementary 2016 offerings.

“We’re listening to industry and are pleased to make available a number of additional, nominated areas,” Mr Samuel said.

“The strong interest in this round bodes well for the forthcoming 30th round, demonstrating the renewed attractiveness of the UKCS and the opportunity for operators to rebuild their portfolios with a mixture of exploration, development and re-development activity.”

The supplementary round opened in December and closed in March.

It was launched in addition to the 29th licensing round, during which 25 licences for more than 100 blocks were handed down in frontier areas, including the Rockall Basin.

Among those who picked up licences in the supplementary round are Statoil, EnQuest, Shell, Apache, Maersk, BP, Jetex, Speedwell and Actis.

The 30th licensing round is expected to be announced during the third quarter of 2017 and will focus on mature areas of the basin.

The OGA previously said the 30th round could be the “most significant” in decades.

Picture: Steven Brown. Oil and gas workers arriving in Dundee last month aboard the Rowan Gorilla V platform. The Oil and Gas Authority said the North Sea was starting to see higher levels of activity.