On request from the the Ministry of Energy, Offshore Norge established Guide to Petroleum Regulations. The guide is a searchable database of legislation, regulations, guidelines, license and agreement framework in connection with the administrative area of the Ministry of Energy. Regulations and guidelines relating to health, safety and the environment, as well as taxation, are not included in the database.
Guide to Petroleum Regulations was prepared by Offshore Norge and is updated when necessary. Offshore Norge reserves all rights to the database.
The guide can be integrated in member companies’ internal enterprise management systems. Use of the guide is open and public but any kind of copying or other similar utilisation of the manual requires prior written consent from Offshore Norge.
Offshore Norge are not responsible for any errors or omissions that may appear in the guide or supporting documents, links or other references.
If you have any questions or comments regarding the guide, please contact Offshore Norge – firmapost@offshorenorge.no
In this guide, the Pre-Award phase includes laws, regulations, and guidelines up until the award of a production licence to jointly carry out petroleum activity in a defined geographical area
In this guide, the Exploration Phase includes Laws, regulations, and licence terms and conditions from the time a production licence is awarded to companies that will jointly carry out petroleum activity in a defined geographical area and that enter into an Agreement for petroleum activity, thus forming a joint venture.
The development phase includes the period starting with a decision on concrete exploitation of a commercial deposite (BOK) until the start-up to operational facilities.
The “decommissioning” phase includes the period from when work on the cessation plan starts until work under the production licence ceases. There is overlap between the decommissioning and operations phases. For operations-related issues, please see the “Operations” phase.
| Authority relation | Partner relation | Law / Regulation | License / Agreement framework | Guidelines / supervisors / div | Solution | Notes | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Involvement of other stakeholders | ||||||||
| Relationship with other stakeholders | ||||||||
|
Opening of area with an aim towards petroleum activity | ||||||||
| Opening of new area | ||||||||
| Impact assessment when opening new areas to petroleum activity | ||||||||
|
Pre-qualification | ||||||||
| Documentation requirement for operator assessment | ||||||||
| Documentation requirement for licensee assessment | ||||||||
|
Exploration license | ||||||||
| Awarding of exploration licence, etc. | ||||||||
|
Agreements with goal of applying for production licence | ||||||||
| Agreements with goal of applying for production licence | ||||||||
|
Nomination of area for announcement | ||||||||
| Nomination of area for announcement | ||||||||
|
The production license | ||||||||
| Model Production Licence for use in regular licensing rounds | ||||||||
| Announcement | ||||||||
| Application | ||||||||
| Processing fee | ||||||||
| Announcement and award, award criteria | ||||||||
| Agreement for petroleum operations (incl. joint operating- and accounting agreement) | ||||||||
| Third party exploration rights | ||||||||
| The right to locate installations, etc., for others | ||||||||
|
Awards in pre-defined areas (APA) | ||||||||
| Model production licence in rounds in Awards in pre-defined areas (APA) | ||||||||
| Announcement | ||||||||
| Invitation to apply for production licence | ||||||||
| Application for production licence for APA | ||||||||
| Reporting of company information | ||||||||
| Application letter | ||||||||
|
Setting conditions | ||||||||
| Authority to establish regulations and set conditions | ||||||||
| Production licence | ||||||||
| Terms and conditions | ||||||||
| Work commitment | ||||||||
|
Involvement of other stakeholders | ||||||||
| Relationship with other stakeholders | ||||||||
|
The production license | ||||||||
| Legal basis for the exploration activity | ||||||||
| Model production licence for use in regular licensing rounds | ||||||||
| Model production licence in rounds in awards in pre-defined areas (APA) | ||||||||
| Agreement for petroleum operations (incl. joint operating- and accounting agreement) | ||||||||
| Registration of licenses | ||||||||
| The production license area | ||||||||
| The duration of a production license | ||||||||
| Extension of a production license within the framework of 10 years | ||||||||
| Extension of a production licence beyond 10 years | ||||||||
| Partition of a production licence area | ||||||||
| Relinquishment/abandoning | ||||||||
|
The operator | ||||||||
| Legal basis for the role of operator | ||||||||
| Transfer of operator role | ||||||||
|
Governance in the venture | ||||||||
| Governance in the venture | ||||||||
| Work program are regulated in SA article 12 | ||||||||
| Budget, authority for expenditure estimate are regulated in SA article 12 | ||||||||
| Procurement regulated in SA article 13 | ||||||||
|
Disposition of the production license | ||||||||
| Transfer of participating interest | ||||||||
| Changes in ownership of licensee/transfer of shareholdings | ||||||||
| The State’s right of pre-emption | ||||||||
| Mortgaging | ||||||||
| Secondary responsibility for removal obligations | ||||||||
|
Agreements between independent companies | ||||||||
| Agreements in Groups | ||||||||
|
Governance for licensee | ||||||||
| Requirements for sound petroleum activity | ||||||||
| Management of petroleum activity, base, etc. | ||||||||
| Agreements in groups/between related companies | ||||||||
| Duty to comply with the Petroleum Activities Act and to ensure compliance with regulatory requirements | ||||||||
| Lease of production facility | ||||||||
|
Work commitment and work program | ||||||||
| Legal basis for the work commitment | ||||||||
| Contents of the work commitment | ||||||||
| Work program | ||||||||
| Drill-or-drop | ||||||||
|
Collection of seismic | ||||||||
| Survey and other sub-surface surveys | ||||||||
| Seismic and fisheries | ||||||||
| Survey activity – information duty, etc. | ||||||||
| Execution of seismic surveys | ||||||||
| Transactions of seismic data, drilling results, etc. SA article 26 | ||||||||
| Submission of material and information from survey activities | ||||||||
| Requirements for fisheries experts on board vessels conducting seismic survey | ||||||||
| Guideline for reporting seismic data | ||||||||
|
Drilling and well activities | ||||||||
| Information and application prior to drilling and well activities | ||||||||
| Drilling and well activities | ||||||||
| Registration | ||||||||
| Reporting geotechnical and reservoir-technical well data | ||||||||
| Geotechnical contents of well program | ||||||||
| Handling sensitive information from exploration wells | ||||||||
|
Sole risk | ||||||||
| Execution of activities not approved by the management committee | ||||||||
| Non-participating parties’ access to later participation | ||||||||
|
Reporting and documentation | ||||||||
| Material and information regarding the petroleum activity | ||||||||
| Public information | ||||||||
| Notification and reporting | ||||||||
|
Security | ||||||||
| Security | ||||||||
|
Area and production fee, etc. | ||||||||
| Area and production fee, etc. | ||||||||
| Fee rates for area fee | ||||||||
| Payment of area fee | ||||||||
| Application for exemption from area fee | ||||||||
| Other natural resources than petroleum deposits | ||||||||
| Postponement of exploration drilling and development | ||||||||
|
Authority supervision and monitoring of the petroleum activities | ||||||||
| Supervision of the petroleum activities | ||||||||
|
Compensation for fishermen | ||||||||
| Special regulations pertaining compensation paid to Norwegian fishermen | ||||||||
|
Insurance | ||||||||
| Insurance | ||||||||
| The parties can arrange insurance themselves | ||||||||
| Reporting of insurance to the Ministry of Energy | ||||||||
|
Liability in connection with pollution damage | ||||||||
| Liability in connection with pollution damage | ||||||||
|
Involvement of other stakeholders | ||||||||
| Relationship with other stakeholders | ||||||||
|
The production license | ||||||||
| Model Production License for use in regular licensing rounds | ||||||||
| Model production license in rounds in Awards in pre-defined areas (APA) | ||||||||
| Agreement for petroleum operations (incl. joint operating- and accounting agreement) | ||||||||
| Third party access in the production license area | ||||||||
| The duration of a production license | ||||||||
| Extension of a production license within the framework of 10 years | ||||||||
| Extension of a production licence beyond 10 years | ||||||||
| Partition of a production license area | ||||||||
| Relinquishment/abandoning | ||||||||
|
The operator | ||||||||
| Legal basis for the role of operator | ||||||||
| Transfer of operator role | ||||||||
|
Governance in the joint venture | ||||||||
| Governance in the venture | ||||||||
| Work program are regulated in SA article 12 | ||||||||
| Budget, authority for expenditure estimate are regulated in SA article 12 | ||||||||
| Procurement regulated in SA article 13 | ||||||||
|
Governance for licensee | ||||||||
| Requirements for sound petroleum activity | ||||||||
| Management of petroleum activity, base, etc. | ||||||||
| Agreements in groups/between related companies | ||||||||
| Duty to comply with the Petroleum Activities Act and to ensure compliance with regulatory requirements | ||||||||
| Lease of production facility | ||||||||
|
Disposition of the production licence | ||||||||
| Transfer of participating interest | ||||||||
| Changes in ownership of licensee/transfer of shareholdings | ||||||||
| The State’s right of pre-emption | ||||||||
| Mortgaging | ||||||||
| Secondary responsibility for removal obligations | ||||||||
|
Collection of seismic | ||||||||
| Survey and other sub-surface surveys | ||||||||
| Seismic and fisheries | ||||||||
| Survey activity – information duty, etc. | ||||||||
| Execution of seismic surveys | ||||||||
| Transactions of seismic data, drilling results, etc. SA article 26 | ||||||||
| Submission of material and information from survey activities | ||||||||
| Requirements for fisheries experts on board vessels conducting seismic survey | ||||||||
| Guideline for reporting seismic data | ||||||||
|
Drilling and well activities | ||||||||
| Information and application prior to drilling and well activities | ||||||||
| Drilling and well activities | ||||||||
| Registration | ||||||||
| Reporting geotechnical and reservoir-technical well data | ||||||||
| Geotechnical contents of well program | ||||||||
| Handling sensitive information from exploration wells | ||||||||
|
Sound production of petroleum | ||||||||
| Norm for sound production | ||||||||
| Requirement for consent for start-up and continuation | ||||||||
| Coordinated petroleum activity (UNIT agreement) | ||||||||
|
Production schedule | ||||||||
| Establishing production schedule | ||||||||
| Preparation, start and continuation of production | ||||||||
| Production program | ||||||||
|
Production requirement | ||||||||
| Preparation, start and continuation of production | ||||||||
|
Petroleum recovery | ||||||||
| Oil recovery | ||||||||
| Natural gas recovery | ||||||||
| Establishing point of delivery in the venture | ||||||||
|
Landing and transport of oil | ||||||||
| Landing petroleum | ||||||||
|
Deliveries in case of national needs | ||||||||
| Deliveries for national needs | ||||||||
| Deliveries during war, risk of war and supply crises | ||||||||
|
Gas transport | ||||||||
| Gassco for the comprehensive operation of upstream gas pipeline grid, etc. | ||||||||
| Access to upstream gas pipeline grid | ||||||||
| Establishing tariffs, etc., for Gassled | ||||||||
| Terms and conditions for transportation of Gas in Gassled | ||||||||
|
Metering and sales | ||||||||
| Metering, etc., of produced petroleum | ||||||||
| Determination of licensee revenue for tax reports | ||||||||
|
Area and production fee, etc. | ||||||||
| Fee rates for area fee | ||||||||
| Payment of area fee | ||||||||
| Production and area fee | ||||||||
| Area fee deduction from production fee | ||||||||
| Application for exemption from area fee | ||||||||
| Other natural resources than petroleum deposits | ||||||||
| Postponement of exploration drilling and development | ||||||||
|
Third party use of facilities | ||||||||
| Legal basis | ||||||||
| Regulations pertaining to third party use of facilities | ||||||||
| Agreements for third party use of facilities | ||||||||
| Information duty | ||||||||
| Use of facilities for processing of transport and storage of CO2 | ||||||||
|
Authority supervision and monitoring of the petroleum activities | ||||||||
| Supervision of the petroleum activities | ||||||||
|
Reporting and documentation | ||||||||
| Material and information regarding the petroleum activity | ||||||||
| Public information | ||||||||
| Information and documentation | ||||||||
| Notification and reporting | ||||||||
| Reporting of production data | ||||||||
| Reporting of payments | ||||||||
|
Security | ||||||||
| Security | ||||||||
| Liability for commitments | ||||||||
|
Insurance | ||||||||
| Insurance | ||||||||
| The parties can arrange insurance themselves | ||||||||
| Reporting of insurance to the Ministry of Energy | ||||||||
|
Liability in connection with pollution damage | ||||||||
| Liability in connection with pollution damage | ||||||||
|
Compensation for fishermen | ||||||||
| Special regulations pertaining compensation paid to Norwegian fishermen | ||||||||
|
Development proposals | ||||||||
| The role of the management committee and sound governance | ||||||||
| The basis for and decision to continue (BOV) | ||||||||
| The duty of the operator to prepare a development plan in the event of BOV decision by the management committee | ||||||||
| The right of the licensee to prepare a separate development plan | ||||||||
| Standard APA production licence Item 4 D | ||||||||
| Documentation of milestones (BOK and BOV) before submission of PDO and PIO | ||||||||
|
Impact assessment | ||||||||
| Impact assessment in plan for development and operation of petroleum deposits | ||||||||
| Impact assessment in plan for installation and operation of installations | ||||||||
|
Rate survey | ||||||||
| Survey and other sub-surface surveys | ||||||||
|
Plan for development and operation of petroleum deposits (field development plan) | ||||||||
| Plan for field development and operation of petroleum deposits | ||||||||
| Content and description of the development in the plan for field development and operation of a petroleum deposit | ||||||||
| The venture’s processing of development plan | ||||||||
| Newer production licences item 7 with only two licensees | ||||||||
|
Plan for installations and operation of facilities | ||||||||
| Permit for installation and operation of facilities | ||||||||
| Special permit for installation and operation of facilities | ||||||||
| Content of plan for installation and operation of facilities | ||||||||
| Measures requiring permits | ||||||||
|
Development | ||||||||
| The development is carried out on behalf of the participating parties, and must be carried out without undue delay after the Ministry of Energy has approved the development plan | ||||||||
| Access to withdraw approval of a production license in certain instances | ||||||||
| Postponement of exploration drilling and development | ||||||||
| The Ministry of Energy’s right to withdraw the production license in case of lack of progress | ||||||||
| Order to prepare submission of PDO/PIO | ||||||||
|
Procurement | ||||||||
| Pre-investment | ||||||||
| General procurement regulations | ||||||||
|
Proximity and crossover agreements | ||||||||
| Mini guide for proximity and crossing agreements | ||||||||
| Model agreements for crossing og proximity agreements | ||||||||
|
Sole risk | ||||||||
| Execution of activities not approved by the management committee | ||||||||
| Non-participating parties’ access to later participation | ||||||||
|
Sole risk development | ||||||||
| Sole risk development | ||||||||
| Licenses with only just two licensees | ||||||||
|
Consent requirement for start-up or continuation of use of facilities | ||||||||
| Consent for start-up and continuation | ||||||||
| Guideline for consent for start-up and continuation within the resource management area | ||||||||
|
Involvement of other stakeholders | ||||||||
| Relationship with other stakeholders | ||||||||
|
The production license | ||||||||
| Model Production License for use in regular licensing rounds | ||||||||
| Model production licence in rounds in Awards in pre-defined areas (APA) | ||||||||
| Agreement for petroleum operations (incl. joint operating- and accounting agreement) | ||||||||
| Third party access in the production license area | ||||||||
| The duration of a production license | ||||||||
| Extension of a production license within the framework of 10 years | ||||||||
| Extension of a production licencs beyond 10 years | ||||||||
| Partition of a production license area | ||||||||
| Relinquishment/abandoning | ||||||||
|
The operator | ||||||||
| Legal basis for the role of operator | ||||||||
| Transfer of operator role | ||||||||
|
Governance in the venture | ||||||||
| Governance in the venture | ||||||||
| Work program are regulated in SA article 12 | ||||||||
| Budget, authority for expenditure estimate are regulated in SA article 12 | ||||||||
| Procurement regulated in SA article 13 | ||||||||
|
Governance for licensee | ||||||||
| Requirements for sound petroleum activity | ||||||||
| Management of petroleum activity, base, etc. | ||||||||
| Agreements in groups/between related companies | ||||||||
| Duty to comply with the Petroleum Activities Act and to ensure compliance with regulatory requirements | ||||||||
| Lease of production facility | ||||||||
|
Disposition of the production license | ||||||||
| Transfer of participating interest | ||||||||
| Changes in ownership of licensee/transfer of shareholdings | ||||||||
| The State’s right of pre-emption | ||||||||
| Mortgaging | ||||||||
| Secondary responsibility for removal obligations | ||||||||
|
Collection of seismic | ||||||||
| Survey and other sub-surface surveys | ||||||||
| Seismic and fisheries | ||||||||
| Survey activity – information duty, etc. | ||||||||
| Execution of seismic surveys | ||||||||
| Transactions of seismic data, drilling results, etc. SA article 26 | ||||||||
| Submission of material and information from survey activities | ||||||||
| Requirements for fisheries experts on board vessels conducting seismic survey | ||||||||
| Guideline for reporting seismic data | ||||||||
|
Drilling and well activities | ||||||||
| Information and application prior to drilling and well activities | ||||||||
| Drilling and well activities | ||||||||
| Registration | ||||||||
| Reporting geotechnical and reservoir-technical well data | ||||||||
| Geotechnical contents of well program | ||||||||
| Handling sensitive information from exploration wells | ||||||||
|
Sound production of petroleum | ||||||||
| Norm for sound production | ||||||||
| Requirement for consent for start-up and continuation | ||||||||
| Coordinated petroleum activity (UNIT agreement) | ||||||||
|
Production schedule | ||||||||
| Establishing production schedule | ||||||||
| Preparation, start and continuation of production | ||||||||
| Production program | ||||||||
|
Production order | ||||||||
| Preparation, start and continuation of production | ||||||||
|
Petroleum recovery | ||||||||
| Oil recovery | ||||||||
| Natural gas recovery | ||||||||
| Establishing point of delivery in the venture | ||||||||
|
Landing and transport of oil | ||||||||
| Landing petroleum | ||||||||
|
Deliveries in case of national needs | ||||||||
| Deliveries for national needs | ||||||||
| Deliveries during war, risk of war and supply crises | ||||||||
|
Gas transport | ||||||||
| Gassco for the comprehensive operation of upstream gas pipeline grid, etc. | ||||||||
| Access to upstream gas pipeline grid | ||||||||
| Establishing tariffs, etc., for Gassled | ||||||||
| Terms and conditions for transportation of gas in Gassled | ||||||||
|
Metering and sales | ||||||||
| Metering, etc., of produced petroleum | ||||||||
| Determination of licensee revenue for tax reports | ||||||||
|
Area and production fee, etc. | ||||||||
| Area and production fee, etc. | ||||||||
| Fee rates for area fee | ||||||||
| Payment of area fee | ||||||||
| Production and area fee | ||||||||
| Area fee deduction from production fee | ||||||||
| Application for exemption from area fee | ||||||||
| Other natural resources than petroleum deposits | ||||||||
| Postponement of exploration drilling and development | ||||||||
|
Third party use of facilities | ||||||||
| Legal basis | ||||||||
| Regulations pertaining to third party use of facilities | ||||||||
| Agreements for third party use of facilities | ||||||||
| Information duty | ||||||||
| Use of facilities for processing of transport and storage of CO2 | ||||||||
|
Authority supervision and monitoring of the petroleum activities | ||||||||
| Supervision of the petroleum activities | ||||||||
|
Reporting and documentation | ||||||||
| Material and information regarding the petroleum activity | ||||||||
| Public information | ||||||||
| Information and documentation | ||||||||
| Notification and reporting | ||||||||
| Reporting of production data | ||||||||
| Reporting of payments | ||||||||
|
Security | ||||||||
| Security | ||||||||
| Liability for commitments | ||||||||
|
Insurance | ||||||||
| Insurance | ||||||||
| The parties can arrange insurance themselves | ||||||||
| Reporting of insurance to the Ministry of Energy | ||||||||
|
Liability in connection with pollution damage | ||||||||
| Liability in connection with pollution damage | ||||||||
|
Sole risk | ||||||||
| Execution of activities not approved by the management committee | ||||||||
| Non-participating parties’ access to later participation | ||||||||
|
Compensation for fishermen | ||||||||
| Special regulations pertaining compensation paid to Norwegian fishermen | ||||||||
|
Involvement with other stakeholders | ||||||||
| Relationship with other stakeholders | ||||||||
|
Duty to submit the cessation plan | ||||||||
| The scope of the duty – applies to all “installations” | ||||||||
| Deadline to submit cessation plan | ||||||||
| Content requirement for the cessation plan | ||||||||
| The Ministry’s exemption right | ||||||||
| The Ministry’s right to demand further information or a new plan | ||||||||
|
The Ministry’s disposal decision | ||||||||
| The Ministry’s disposal decision and deadline for execution | ||||||||
| Authority to stipulate disposal conditions | ||||||||
|
Responsibility for executing the disposal decision | ||||||||
| Those responsible for executing the disposal decision | ||||||||
| Transfer of licence or participating interest | ||||||||
| Secondary financial responsibility for previous owner or licensee | ||||||||
| Transfer of installations | ||||||||
| The Ministry’s right to carry out the disposal decision in the event of missed deadline | ||||||||
| Security requirement | ||||||||
|
Notification of cessation of operations | ||||||||
| Duty to inform if use of installation is expected to cease before the expiry of the licence | ||||||||
| Duty to inform of changes in time of final cessation | ||||||||
|
Encumbrances | ||||||||
| Annulment of encumbrances as result of the State’s removal decision | ||||||||
|
State acquisition | ||||||||
| The State’s right to acquire installations | ||||||||
|
Various consent requirements | ||||||||
| Requirement for consent for “re-use” of installation | ||||||||
| Requirement for consent for certain activities, including final disposal | ||||||||
| Special notes on cessation of operations at land facilities | ||||||||
|
Liability | ||||||||
| Owner or licensee’s liability for damage caused in connection with final disposal or abandonment | ||||||||
|
Governance in the joint venture | ||||||||
| Governance in the venture | ||||||||
| Work program are regulated in SA article 12 | ||||||||
| Budget, authority for expenditure estimate are regulated in SA article 12 | ||||||||
| Procurement regulated in SA article 13 | ||||||||
| The licensees’ right to prepare alternative cessation plan or propose changes | ||||||||
| The management committee’s processing of draft cessation plan | ||||||||
| Execution of disposal decision | ||||||||
| What is the duration of the joint venture agreement? | ||||||||
|
International regulations | ||||||||
| OSPAR convention | ||||||||
| International climate and environmental conventions Norway is obliged to | ||||||||
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