Maersk Oil Receives Nine Licenses in UK’s 27th Licensing Round

Maersk Oil UK announced that it has been awarded three operated and six non-operated licenses in the United Kingdom’s 27th round of licensing. The licenses will improve the company’s position in the North Sea and will lead to exploration drilling of two wells.

Martin Rune Pedersen, managing director of Maersk Oil, commented:

The award of these new licenses adds significantly to our long term growth strategy for the UK business. Our aim is to double our production in the next 5-7 years, and the award is integral to sustaining future growth. The Exploration Team is highly experienced, with an excellent track record of successful bids and the technical expertise to maximise value from the licenses. As a global company, we were able to leverage our recent successes such as in Norway with the Johan Sverdrup discovery, and apply lessons learned to the UK business.

Our planned drilling programme and project developments will see an intense period of activity and I am delighted that in a tight rig market we have already secured the Sedco 704 rig on a two-year contract starting early 2013 that will also allow for timely execution of the wells from the 27th Round awards.

Click here to read the full Maersk Oil UK press release.