Norway on Wednesday said it awarded 10 new licenses for oil and gas exploration in Barents Sea, offering new acreage for exploration for the first time in 20 years.

The Norwegian Ministry of Petroleum and Energy said in a statement that the new licenses consist of 40 blocks in total and three of the licenses are located in the newly opened area in the Barents Sea South-East area near the Russian border.

“Today, we are opening a new chapter in the history of the Norwegian petroleum industry,” Minister of Petroleum and Energy Tord Lien was quoted as saying.

He said the new licenses will contribute to employment, growth and value creation in Norway and the northern part of the country is now in the forefront of further developing the Norwegian petroleum industry.

“The Barents Sea offers great, new opportunities. The industry’s interest in new acreage shows that the Norwegian continental shelf remains attractive,” Lien said.

“The potential is huge. If the companies are successful in their exploration, Northern Norway will enter a new era,” he added.
Thirteen companies have shown interest to participate, including Statoil, Lukoil, ConocoPhillips and Chevron.

Norway’s petroleum activities in the Barents Sea have been carried out since 1980. The Barents Sea South-East area became a part of the Norwegian Continental Shelf after the Treaty on Maritime Delimitation and Cooperation in the Barents Sea and the Arctic Ocean between Russia and Norway entered into force on July 7, 2011.