(WO) – Wintershall Dea has been awarded 13 exploration licenses by the Norwegian Ministry of Energy in the 2023 Award in Predefined Areas (APA) – five licenses as operator, and eight as partner.

Wintershall Dea has been an active and successful explorer in recent years, participating in 19 discoveries since 2019. Most of these are the result of licenses awarded in previous APA rounds.

“The annual APA licensing rounds are crucial for our continued growth and investment on the Norwegian Continental Shelf. In terms of our operated fields, in the last two years we have begun production on Dvalin and Nova, and we will start production on Dvalin North and Maria Phase 2 in the coming years. Most of these developments began with our gaining of licenses through awards in previous APA rounds. The continued development of fields ensures that we can supply much needed gas to Europe and especially Germany, where Norway was the most important gas supplier in 2023,” said Michael Zechner Wintershall Dea Norge Managing Director.

Three license awards are in the North Sea (one as operator) and 10 in the Norwegian Sea (four as operator). Nine of the awards are new licenses, and four are area extensions to existing licenses.

The awarded licenses are all located in core areas, supporting Wintershall Dea’s strategy of investing in exploration near existing owned infrastructure.

“Exploring in mature areas where we have a presence means we are already familiar with the geology, thus maximizing our chances of making a discovery. Meanwhile, proximity to existing assets means discoveries with lower volumes can still be commercially developed, since they tap into existing infrastructure,” said Roy Davies, Wintershall Dea Norge Vice President for Exploration.

The Norwegian Sea awards are located in the Vøring Basin, where Wintershall Dea has a stake in the Aasta Hansteen field, and the Haltenbanken area, where Wintershall Dea is the operator of the Maria and Dvalin fields. In the North Sea, the awards are located in the Q35 area, close to the Wintershall Dea operated Nova and Vega fields, and the Tampen area close to the Snorre field where Wintershall Dea is a partner.