Twenty-one E&P companies have submitted applications for Norway’s Awards in Predefined Areas (APA) 2026 round, announced on May 5.

The annual APA process covers most areas already opened to exploration on the Norwegian Continental Shelf that are not presently licensed.

“It is very encouraging to see that the companies have strong confidence in the opportunities for making new discoveries…," said Norway’s Energy Minister Terje Aasland. “Continued exploration and new discoveries are crucial for Norway to remain a stable supplier of oil and gas.”

For this year’s round, the APA pre-defined area was expanded to include 70 blocks and part-blocks in the North Sea, Norwegian Sea and Barents Sea, continuing Norway's approach of opening additional acreage in mature exploration provinces with existing offshore infrastructure.

The Norwegian Offshore Directorate will assess the applications, focusing on applicants’ geological comprehension and plans for exploration of the areas, their technical capabilities and experience, and financial muscle.

Production licenses should be awarded early next year.

The full list of applicants is as follows:

1. A/S Norske Shell
2. Aker BP
3. Concedo
4. ConocoPhillips Skandinavia
5. DNO Norge
6. Equinor Energy
7. Harbour Energy Norge
8. INPEX Idemitsu Norge
9. Japex Norge
10. Kistos Energy Norway
11. Lime Petroleum
12. OKEA
13. OMV Norge
14. ORLEN Upstream Norway
15. Pandion Energy
16. Petrolia NOCO
17. Repsol Norge
18. Source Energy
19. TotalEnergies EP Norge
20. Vår Energi
21. Wellesley Petroleum