UK Launches Offshore High-Impact Round
UK offshore regulator Oil and Gas Authority (OGA) has launched the 31st offshore licensing round, offering blocks in under-explored areas of the UK continental shelf (UKCS), it said July 10.
To spur interest, companies will have access to over 80,000 km of 'high quality, government-funded' seismic data, available at OGA's data centre. The government spent £40mn ($53mn) acquiring the data in recent years. A total of 1766 blocks (370,000 km2) open acreage is now available across the West of Scotland, the East Shetland Platform, the Mid North Sea High, South West Britain and parts of the English Channel.
Welcoming the round, the offshore lobby group Oil & Gas UK said: “Frontier exploration is... a long game and requires businesses to be confident future opportunities."
As a result of high levels of industry interest following the 30th Round, the OGA said it was also offering companies the opportunity to propose additional blocks in more mature areas, for possible inclusion where applicants intend to commit to a substantial firm work programme. Submissions should be made to the OGA in writing before 18 July 2019, with the OGA reserving the right to instead offer nominated blocks in a subsequent licence offering.
OGA CEO Andy Samuel said: “Following hot on the heels of the strong industry response to the 30th Round, the OGA is opening up large areas of acreage to industry that offer the opportunity for high-impact exploration growth. The array of measures put in place by the OGA over the last two years, coupled with the UK’s highly attractive fiscal regime and openly-accessible data have laid the foundation for the ongoing revival in exploration activity across all areas of the UK Continental Shelf.”
Blocks are expected to be awarded, the OGA said, "as early as possible in the first half of 2019. The launch of this round follows the recent highly-successful 30th Offshore Licensing Round which awarded 123 licences for 229 blocks or part blocks to 61 companies in mature areas of the UKCS during May 2018."
The next [32nd] round is planned to open next summer 2019, and will focus on mature areas of the UKCS.
OGUK said the present round represented three years' close collaboration with the OGA, updating the licensing process and opening up under-explored acreage on the East Shetland Platform, South Western Approaches, and Mid North Sea High.
“With an industry-wide focus on efficiency and innovation, a stable fiscal regime, and a positive response to the 30th Round, industry is fit and ready to usher in a new era of exploration in the North Sea. Fiscal and regulatory stability remains a prerequisite if we are to realise the benefits of exploration activity which is badly needed to boost production and activity,” said OGUK upstream policy director Mike Tholen.