Norway's Equinor has been awarded nine new exploration licenses in Norway's 30th offshore licensing round, the company said on Wednesday.
Formerly known as Statoil, Equinor said that eight of the nine licenses spread across the U.K. shelf have been awarded as operator.
'This strengthens our position as an ambitious U.K. explorer. We believe the U.K. continental shelf is underexplored and anticipate that there are new discoveries yet to be made that can add value to our business and provide resources for new developments,' Jenny Morris, vice president for U.K. exploration in Equinor said.
'We have drilled several exploration wells on the shelf over the last few years, and this award puts us in a position to further develop our portfolio and utilize our strengths in a mature but prolific basin. This is in line with our strategy,' Morris added.
The plan is to progress work in line with the awarded licenses by conducting a site survey, and in line with the company's strategy, to efficiently mature and drill exploration wells in 2019.
This autumn Equinor will undertake a three-well exploration campaign.
By Murat Temizer
Anadolu Agency
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