Five awards to Noreco in the 20th license round

Norwegian Energy Company ASA (Noreco – OSE:NOR), The oil company Noreco has been offered five licenses in the 20th license round on the Norwegian continental shelf.

We are very pleased with the awards in the 20th licensing round, both in terms of quality and number of the licenses offered to Noreco, says CEO Scott Kerr.

Noreco were awarded five of the total of 21 licenses awarded in the 20th licensing round, second only to StatoilHydro in terms of number of licenses. The licenses Noreco were offered are all in the Norwegian Sea, and provide new, high impact drilling targets to Noreco’s portfolio and will significantly increase the risked exploration resources in the company.

The 20th licensing round comes three years after the last licensing round in unexplored areas on the Norwegian continental shelf.

– The success in this important licensing round is a demonstration of the excellent exploration team we have in Noreco, says CEO Scott Kerr.

Noreco runs a selective exploration program, with focus on exploration wells that have a high value creation potential for the Noreco. In 2009, Noreco will be involved in five exploration wells, of which two have been drilled already resulting in the recent significant Gita discovery in Denmark. Three new exploration wells in Norway will be started in the near future. At the same time, the company is continuing its active portfolio management program and has during first quarter of 2009 dropped four licenses based on extensive subsurface studies.