7 Min Read
OSLO (Reuters) - Norway’s oil and gas reserves have made it one of the world’s wealthiest countries but its dreams for deep-sea discovery now centre on something different.
FILE PHOTO: A view across Yoldiabukta Bay towards Spitsbergen island, part of the Svalbard archipelago in northern Norway, September 27, 2020. Picture taken September 27, 2020. REUTERS/Natalie Thomas/File Photo
This time, Oslo is looking for a leading role in mining copper, zinc and other metals found on the seabed and in hot demand in green technologies.
Norway could license companies for deep-sea mining as early as 2023, its oil and energy ministry told Reuters, potentially placing it among the first countries to harvest seabed metals for electric vehicle batteries, wind turbines and solar farms.
The Globe and Mail Reuters Bookmark Please log in to listen to this story. Also available in French and Mandarin. Log In Create Free Account
Getting audio file . This translation has been automatically generated and has not been verified for accuracy. Full Disclaimer
Norway expects to award oil and gas exploration permits in frontier regions of the Arctic in the second quarter, Oil and Energy Minister Tina Bru told parliament on Thursday.
The government in November said it would offer drilling permits in nine offshore regions containing 136 blocks, mostly in the Arctic Barents Sea, as it seeks to pave the way for a major expansion of exploration.
Norway is proceeding with plans to award oil and gas exploration permits in frontier regions of the Arctic later this year, Oil and Energy Minister Tina Bru told parliament on Thursday.
For full list of awards, click bit.ly/3sCuDOp (Adds reaction, background)
OSLO, Jan 19 (Reuters) - Norway awarded 61 offshore exploration blocks to 30 oil firms in its latest pre-defined areas (APA) licensing round as it seeks to find more resources close to existing fields, Energy Minister Tina Bru said on Tuesday.
Norway, which began to extract oil and gas from its offshore continental shelf 50 years ago, believes it has still only pumped about half of its available resources.
Firms that won stakes in the licences included Equinor , Shell, Aker BP, ConocoPhillips , Total, Lundin Energy and Eni’s Vaar Energi.
“These companies have shown great interest in gaining access to new exploration acreage, illustrating the industry’s confidence in continued profitability from exploration on the Norwegian continental shelf,” Bru said.