Following a discouraging 2017 Arctic exploration campaign, oil companies plan to nearly double exploration drilling offshore Norway with a focus on more mature areas of the Norwegian Continental Shelf (NCS), according to preliminary company drilling plans. Up to 50 exploration wells, including such to delineate previously made discoveries, could be drilled offshore Norway in 2018, up from 26 wells drilled in 2017, according to data and estimates compiled by Reuters . This year, oil companies focused on frontier exploration drilling in the Barents Sea, neglecting the powerhouse of the Norwegian oil industry, the North Sea. Exploration activity in the North Sea—the most mature area of Western Europe’s biggest oil producer—is at an 11-year low this year, which is a concern for the industry’s regulator, the Norwegian Petroleum Directorate (NPD). This year’s Barents Sea drilling campaign was a disappointment for all operators, but they are not giving up—instead, they are […]