Technology fuels record oil & gas activity
19 Jun 2006
Oil & Gas Licensing Round attracts record number of applications for new exploration and production licences
London — The UK’s latest Oil & Gas Licensing Round has generated a record number of applications for new exploration and production licences, the Energy minister Malcolm Wicks announced 19 June.
A total of 147 applications from 121 companies were received by the time the bidding process closed on 16 June. Applications for the non-traditional 'Promote' licence — designed to attract newer and smaller firms to the sector — exceeded last year's, as did applications for 'Traditional' licences, said Wicks.
“Lately the spotlight has rightly been on cleaner energy - renewables and nuclear - but we still need oil and gas and this surge of interest in the North Sea reflects that. New technologies now make it easier to tap previously hard-to-reach reserves,” the minister concluded.
