Lukoil to bid with Det Norske, North Energy and Lundin at next Norwegian licensing round
OSLO. Sept 6 (Interfax) - Lukoil Overseas, the operator for the international upstream projects of Russia's Lukoil , has formed three alliances with two Norwegian companies, Det Norske and North Energy, and one Swedish company, Lundin, to bid at the Norwegian government's next , 22nd licensing tender round, Andrei Kuzyayev, a Lukoil vice president and the head of Lukoil Overseas, told reporters.
The companies are participating in the consortia on equal terms, Kuzyayev said. Lukoil is the operator of one of them.
Kuzyayev also said Lukoil planned to invest $100 million per year in exploration in the Barents Sea in three years starting at the end of 2013.
He did not rule out the company acquiring existing reserves in Norway in the future.
The tender is for 84 blocks, 72 of them in the Barents Sea, in the central and western part of the Norwegian sector. The deadline for submitting bids is December 4 and the results will be announced in the spring of 2013.
Kuzyayev said Lukoil Overseas was also preparing for the next, 23rd tender, due to take place in 2014-2015, when blocks in the southern part of the Barents Sea "grey zone" will be offered.
One of the attractions of working in Norway is that the government refunds up to 78% of what investors spend on exploration, including drilling, Kuzyayev said. "Also, we receive combined licenses for both exploration and production in Norway, which is an additional stimulus," he said.
