Norway awards 56 oil and gas licences in mature areas
SANDEFJORD, Norway, Jan 17 (Reuters) - Norway's oil ministry awarded 56 offshore exploration licences on Tuesday in a bid to lift output from acreage located near existing oil and gas fields.
A total of 29 companies won stakes in the annual award of acreage in so-called mature areas, or areas already opened for exploration, that aims to ensure maximum utilisation of past investments in platforms, pipes and other infrastructure.
A year ago, the ministry awarded 56 exploration licenses to 36 companies in a similar round of awards. (Reporting by Nerijus Adomaitis and Joachim Dagenborg, editing by Terje Solsvik and Gwladys Fouche)