Norwegian Energy Company ASA, Noreco has been awarded 9 new licenses including 3 operatorships in the 2007 Awards in Predefined Areas (APA) in Norway.

"We are delighted with the success of our 2007 APA applications. The new licences will strengthen our position in Norway and will significantly increase the resource base of Noreco", says CEO Scott Kerr.

The awards announced today include 6 licenses in the North Sea, and 2 licenses in the Norwegian Sea and 1 license in the Barents Sea. This builds on the existing portfolio of over 30 licenses on the Norwegian Continental Shelf (NCS). Noreco has commenced on drilling program of 30 wells over 3 years, and these new licenses will be evaluated for drilling in 2010 and onwards.

Prior to these awards, Noreco's risked exploration resources were 330 million barrels oil equivalents. The APA2007 awards are expected to increase the resource base of the company significantly. Noreco will revise the exploration resources following discussions with license partners and maturation of the prospectivity in each license. In APA2006 the Noreco group was awarded 11 licenses, which today make up approximately 200 million barrels oil equivalents of risked exploration potential.

Tags: Noreco