Norway has launched the country’s 2025 offshore licensing round for pre-defined areas, with awards expected to be announced in early 2026.
Oil and gas exploration companies are required to submit bids for the predefined areas 2025 (APA 2025) round by 2 September 2025.
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The APA 2025 offer has been extended to include 76 blocks, with 68 blocks in the Barents Sea and eight in the Norwegian Sea.
Applicants are allowed to submit bids for full blocks or parts of blocks within the predefined areas.
The latest round excludes blocks or parts of blocks that may become available less than three months before the application deadline.
The Ministry of Energy said that after more than 50 years of exploration activity, this year’s APA round covers the majority of the opened and accessible acreage on the Norwegian Continental Shelf (NCS). It also represents around 75% of the area opened for petroleum activities on the NCS.
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By GlobalDataNorwegian Minister of Energy Terje Aasland said: “We need to explore more, discover more and produce more. That is why it is important to ensure companies have stable access to exploration acreage. Never before has a larger area been announced in a licensing round. This is good for Norway and for Europe.”
The proposed acreage includes areas with known exploration models and history, including earlier wells, relinquished acreage, and acreage situated geographically between awarded and relinquished areas.
Also included in the latest round are areas bordering the current predefined acreage.
“The APA rounds are a cornerstone of the government’s petroleum policy. Continued exploration and new discoveries are essential to limit the decline in production on the continental shelf after 2030. This year’s expansion provides companies with access to significant new acreage in the Barents Sea, helping us further clarify the resource potential in the north,” Aasland said.
