The number of new bidders trying to wade into the British offshore energy sector is a vote for as much as 6 billion barrels of new oil, a trade group said. The British government said it received 96 applications from 68 different companies, some of which were bidding for the first time ever, for rights to tap into the potential in a license round covering 44,100 square miles in the British North Sea and surrounding waters. Mike Tholen, the director of exploration and production for trade group Oil & Gas U.K., said the new entrants represented a vote of confidence for offshore as early signs point to the potential for as much as 6 billion barrels of new oil. “While […]