In January 2026, 19 companies were offered ownership interests in a total of 57 production licences on the NCS in the APA 2025 licensing round. Of these 57 production licences, 31 are in the North Sea, 21 in the Norwegian Sea and five in the Barents Sea. 20 of the production licences are additional acreage for existing production licences. In 2026, the NOD expects investments on the NCS totalling NOK 256 billion. This represents a reduction of 6.5 per cent from the previous year. The Directorate expects the investment level to decline gradually leading up to 2030. Significant activity and scarce capacity in parts of the supplier industry, presumed extended lifetimes for several production facilities and growth in costs have led to higher projected costs and investments. This is especially for 2026 to 2029, compared with what was presented in early 2025. Additional development wells and higher drilling costs per development well also contribute to a higher level of investment. Projected investments for certain ongoing developments have also increased. The primary cause of falling investments moving forward is the gradual completion and production start-up of ongoing development projects. This will take place without new projects of an equivalent scope expected to come on stream. A few previously planned projects aimed at reducing greenhouse gas emissions by transitioning to operations with power from shore have been suspended due to challenging profitability. These were investment-heavy projects that, according to earlier forecasts, accounted for a substantial share of the level of investment and activity leading up to 2030. Despite the high level of activity in the industry in 2025, new investments will be necessary to maintain future production. All of Norway's oil reserves are located offshore on the Norwegian Continental Shelf, which is divided into three sections: the North Sea, the Norwegian Sea, and the Barents Sea. The bulk of Norway's oil production occurs in the North Sea. New exploration and production activity is taking place further north in the Norwegian Sea and Barents Sea. STRATEGY LPA was established in 2012 with offices at Skøyen in Oslo. The company was pre-qualified in February 2013 as a partner company and in March 2023 as an operator on the Norwegian Continental Shelf. LPA has since built a portfolio of assets focusing on mature areas, following a technology and infrastructure-led strategy. LPA uses high-quality seismic data and the Group’s Rex Virtual Drilling (“RVD”) technology together with conventional seismic attributes and analysis of the petroleum systems in its exploration efforts, and to select and build a portfolio of investments in the NCS. The licences are in oil-prolific areas that already have producing fields and pipeline infrastructure in place, allowing for a rapid path to potential commercialisation and return on investment when more oil discoveries are made in LPA’s assets. Sources: NOD website: http://www.sodir.no/ Norwegian Offshore Directorate, The Shelf 2025, 8 January 2026 Norwegian Offshore Directorate, 19 companies offered ownership interests,13 January 2026 28 Annual Report 2025
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