A record-breaking round of new licences has been granted for North Sea oil and gas exploration as tax breaks fuel investor confidence.
The UK Government announced yesterday that it had approved 167 licences covering 330 offshore blocks – with a further 61 areas still being assessed.
The awards were made from 224 applications covering 418 blocks – the highest level since records began in 1964.
It also emerged yesterday that official estimates for the amount of crude oil remaining in the North Sea have been increased by 5%.
Measures in the coalition government’s Budget on field allowances and decommissioning were said to be partly responsibly for the renewed confidence displayed by investors during the licensing round.
Mike Tholen, economics director for industry body Oil and Gas UK, welcomed the announcements: . “The record number of applications for licences in this 27th round shows that investor confidence is returning.”
Industry giants including BP, Shell, Total, Centrica and Maersk were the winning bidders for new licences yesterday.
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