Norway: prizes for many in the 18th round

SIXTEEN licences, covering 46 blocks or part-blocks, were awarded last month in the country's 18th licensing round, giving majors and small companies a selection of frontier and mature acreage. Majority state-owned Statoil was the most-favoured applicant, winning four operatorships and nine participating interests, but Shell, Eni and Hydro each emerged with two operatorships and four participating interests. The round is notable for the number of smaller companies winning operatorships. Pertra, the subsidiary of Petroleum Geo-Services, secured one, as did the UK's Paladin and Germany's RWE Dea. These three companies also won a number of participating interests. Other smaller firms taking par