The United Kingdom's Oil and Gas Authority, or OGA, awarded 123 licenses to 61 companies to explore new fields in the North Sea in the 30th Offshore Licensing round.
According to a May 23 news release, winners were awarded 229 blocks, covering a total area of 26,659 square kilometers.
"The OGA expects this round to lead very quickly to activity, providing a welcome boost to exploration," the OGA said.
In recent years, many oil and gas majors looked to shed their North Sea assets and focus on other, more prolific production areas such as U.S. shale.
However other companies like Equinor ASA, formerly Statoil ASA, which won nine licenses in the latest licensing round, said the region is underexplored.
"We believe the UK [continental shelf] is underexplored and anticipate that there are new discoveries yet to be made that can add value to our business and provide resources for new developments," Jenny Morris, Equinor's vice president for exploration UK, said in a May 23 news release. "We have drilled several exploration wells on the UKCS over the last few years, and this award puts us in a position to further develop our portfolio and utilise our strengths in a mature but prolific basin."
The licenses awarded to Equinor are spread across the shelf and include one commitment well on the prospect Lifjellet in the Jæren High area. The company will begin a site survey and drill the well in 2019 in line with the strategy to efficiently mature and drill prospects.
The company said that this fall, it will begin work to determine the volume range of the 2017 Verbier discovery and to test two new prospects in the North Sea. The Bigfoot prospect is near the Mariner field, while Pip is in an underdeveloped area on the East Shetland platform. The Mariner field is expected to come on stream later this year.
