Equinor announced that it has been awarded 26 new production licenses by Norway’s Ministry of Petroleum and Energy offered through the 2020 Award in Predefined Areas (APA), the company said in a press release.

According to the statement, Equinor will be an operator for 12 of these licenses and a partner for the remaining 14. They are divided into 12 in the North Sea, 10 in the Norwegian Sea, in addition to four in the Barents Sea.

In this regard, Jez Averty, Equinor’s senior vice president for subsurface in Exploration & Production Norway, “We believe in the Norwegian continental shelf (NCS) and that there is still substantial value to find and develop. A good example is our latest discovery, Toppand, which was awarded in the 2011 APA. This discovery shows the potential for value creation on the NCS, even in mature areas, through use of new information and modern exploration technology,” says Averty.

“We continue an active exploration strategy but focus on maximising value creation overgrowth and volume. At least 80 per cent of our exploration resources and investments will be concentrated around existing infrastructure – so-called near-field or infrastructure-led exploration,” Averty, added.