UK Oil & Gas Authority invites bids for new exploration licenses

The UK Oil & Gas Authority had launched its latest auction for companies to bid for 813 offshore blocks or part blocks in the North Sea, west of Shetland and east Irish Sea.

The 30th Offshore Licensing Round will offer companies an opportunity to bid for acreage and inventory of yet to be developed discoveries, and will be open for 120 days until 21 November.

The OGA said it had worked closely with industry to prepare for the round and also to provide a wealth of data offering fresh insight on the the potential of UKCS.

Exploration blocks on offer feature a large inventory of prospects and undeveloped discoveries.

According to the board, improved efficiency and cost effectiveness of UKCS would prove successful for the UKCS and the UK economy.

“Given the improved efficiency and cost effectiveness of the UKCS, the 30th Licensing Round has all the ingredients to prove successful for the UKCS, and indeed for the UK economy", said Mike Tholen, Oil & Gas UK's upstream policy director.

To support companies in their technical assessments, the OGA recently released around 140 datapacks on undeveloped discoveries which are included in the latest round offering, including around 60 contain 'technical montages' which provide the discovery’s history, static and dynamic information and digital subsurface data.

Andy Samuel, OGA chief executive, said: "The 30th Licensing Round offers companies a significant opportunity to rebuild their portfolios; taking advantage of the flexible Innovate Licence, technology and improvements to the UKCS fiscal regime. These factors combined mean now is a very good time to invest on the UKCS.

"We are encouraging companies to take a fresh look at large areas of acreage, some of which has not been available since 1965, and make best use of the recently released information and new data packs to inform their applications."