INPEX CORPORATION (INPEX) announced it has been awarded three hydrocarbon exploration licenses in Norway through its subsidiary INPEX Idemitsu Norge AS (IIN) as part of the Awards in Pre-defined Areas (APA) 2022 licensing round. The awarded licenses are PL1194 located in the northern Norwegian Sea and PL1179 and PL293CS (an extension of PL 293B) located in the northern North Sea. The annual APA licensing rounds aim to promote further oil and gas exploration in previously explored areas by allowing tenders to be submitted for any acreage within predefined areas where production licenses have not been awarded or where previous licenses have been surrendered.

IIN owns interests in numerous blocks in the northern Norwegian Sea, northern North Sea and Barents Sea, and is involved in stable production operations at the Fram and Snorre oil fields in the northern North Sea while actively promoting exploration activities. The three most recently awarded exploration licences are expected to contribute to the further expansion of INPEX’s business portfolio.

The licenses are also expected to help make INPEX’s upstream business cleaner and more resilient, which is one of the initiatives outlined in the INPEX Vision @2022 announced in February 2022. Through IIN, INPEX will continue to actively engage in the exploration, development and production of oil and gas in Norway

About INPEX

INPEX CORPORATION is Japan’s largest exploration and production (E&P) company, and is currently involved in projects across multiple continents, including the Ichthys LNG Project in Australia as Operator. By thoroughly making its oil and gas business cleaner while expanding its 5 net zero business areas, INPEX aims to provide a stable supply of diverse and clean energy sources including oil, natural gas, hydrogen and renewables as a pioneer in energy transformation.