Rosneft and Lukoil aim for shelf sites in Norway
Rosneft and Lukoil have applied for the right to use the subsoil at the continental shelf of Norwayin the framework of the 22nd license round held by the Government of the country.
The affiliate of Rosneft - RN Nordic Oil AS – and Lukoil are among the candidates for the right to use the subsoil at the Norway continental shelf in the framework of the 22nd round.
The collection of applications was over in late November, the suggestions of the Norway Government will be sent to the companies in the spring 2013. After that the alliances for working at the shelf sites of the country will be formed, and by the summer the licenses will be issued for the participants.
In the framework of the current round of the negotiations the companies are offered licenses for 86 blocks, 14 of which are located in the Norwegian Sea and 72 –in the Barents Sea. Besides Lukoil and Rosneft the subdivisions of Shell, BP, Centrica, ConocoPhillips, Dong, E.ON, Eni, GDF SUEZ, PGNiG, Repsol, RWE, Statoil, Total, Wintershall and others participated in the round.
The regular license rounds by the participants of the Norwegian shelf are held in 2 years. Before the holding of each of them Norway invites the companies to nominate new sites for licensing, and the Government chooses the most popular ones among them, agree them with the fishing and environmental protection agencies and hold public hearings. Only after that the participants are put up for the license round. The Norway Government pays back the oil companies 78% of the total expenditure for the geological exploration, including the expenditure for the exploratory drilling.
Rosneft said earlier it would apply together with its strategic partner - Statoil – for the participation in the 22nd license round. In June 2 companies signed the respective agreement. Rosneft was reported to found an affiliate inNorway which would apply for a 33.33% stake in the sites of the shelf of the neighboring country.
Lukoil has shown interest in the shelf of Norway since last year and initially the company planned to participate in the tender in cooperation with Statoil. But as a result in September it became clear the operator of the foreign projects of the Russian oil company – Lukoil Overseas – for the participation in the 22nd round had formed the alliances with Det Norske Oljeselskap ASA (Norway), Lundin Norway (subdivision of Lundin, Sweden) and North Energy (these companies are also reported to be in the list of applicants). The head of Lukoil Overseas, A. Kuzyaev, said then that the company plans to participate in these alliances on the parity basis and become the operator of one of the projects. Lukoil Overseas was also reported to be preparing for the 23rd license round for the blocks of the Norway shelf (will be held in 2014-2015).
http://www.oilcapital.ru/industry/189322.html
Translated by Galiya Musabekova
