By Lars Erik Taraldsen (Bloomberg) —
Interest in oil exploration in the Norwegian Arctic has dropped dramatically following years of disappointing drilling results.
Only seven oil companies applied for new acreage in the Barents Sea in the latest licensing round, down from 26 in a similar round in 2013. The continued decline will be a blow to the government, which had offered 125 new blocks in eight frontier regions of the Barents.
“The number of companies is relatively low, but it’s not a big surprise,” Oil and Energy Minister Tina Bru said in an email. There’ll still be “increased petroleum activity in the Barents Sea for decades to come,” she said, citing the Goliat and Snohvit fields already on-stream and several projects under development.