Guidelines for applying for production permits

Revised 31 Oct. 2011

Production permit applications must be sent to the Ministry of Petroleum and Energy with a copy

to the Norwegian Petroleum Directorate (NPD) pursuant to Section 23 of the Petroleum

Regulations, cf. Section 4-4 of the Petroleum Act.

1. For producing fields, production permit applications for liquid and flaring/cold venting must

normally be submitted by 1 November. The permit applies for the coming calendar year.

2. For fields with separate gas permits, the production permit application for deliveries of

40 MJ/Sm3 equivalent gas must be submitted by 1 February. The permit applies from 1

October in the applied for gas year until 30 September the following year.

3. In connection with start-up of new fields, production permit applications must be submitted a

minimum of six weeks before production start-up. This includes both fields with liquid and

flaring/cold venting and fields with separate gas permits.

1. Application for production permit for liquid and flaring/cold venting

There must be sufficient documentation to process the production permit application for fields in

production, including an annual status report pursuant to Section 29 of the Resource

Management Regulations, cf. Section 47 of the Petroleum Regulations. The content of the annual

status report is discussed in separate guidelines.

The application must indicate how much petroleum is expected to be produced, flared and cold

vented, as well as the quantity to be injected. The expected monthly volume must be indicated

for the production volume. Furthermore, it must be indicated what this corresponds to in saleable

petroleum. The flaring and cold venting volume must be indicated as average million Sm3 per

day per quarter. The permit applies to the coming calendar year. The application does not include

gas for power production.

In the event of an assumed production over-run for liquid of ten per cent or more, a new

application must be submitted to the Ministry as soon as possible. If the production development

throughout the period shows that the production volumes will be reduced by ten per cent or more

in relation to the applied for volume, this must be reported to the Ministry and the NPD as soon

as possible.

If cold venting or flaring deviate from the framework stipulated in the Ministry’s permit, a new

application must be submitted to the Ministry as soon as possible.

For the annual application there should be an accordance between the applied for volumes of

petroleum to be produced/injected and the expectation values for coming years that are reported

to the revised national budget. If the volumes deviate from figures provided in reporting to the

national budget, this must be addressed and explained.

Licensees can apply for a joint production permit for several fields. As this practice is

established, this option only applies to fields with the same licensee ownership interests and use

of joint infrastructure.

2. Production permit applications for fields with a need for a separate production permit

for gas

Sufficient documentation to process the production permit application for producing fields must

be included, including an annual status report pursuant to Section 29 of the Resource

Management Regulations, cf. Section 47 of the Petroleum Regulations. The content of the annual

status report is discussed in separate guidelines.

The applied for volume defines the maximum gas deliveries per gas year. In the event of lower

deliveries than the maximum allowed volume, a gas volume corresponding to the difference

between the allowed and actual delivery can be taken out in the following years beyond the

indicated volumes. However, this must not conflict with the recovery strategy as described in the

PDO and annual status report.

The production application must indicate profiles for physical volumes and volumes recalculated

to 40MJ/Sm3 equivalent gas per gas year. The volume stated in the gas production permit is the

total allowed deliveries of 40 MJ/Sm3 equivalent gas from the field or fields included in the

production permit. Licensees can apply for a revised gas production permit by 1 February the

following year.

3. Production permit application for start-up of new fields

A status report with content according to separate guidelines, Status report when starting

production, must be used as a basis for production permit applications for new fields, pursuant to

Section 26 of the Resource Management Regulations, cf. Section 23 of the Petroleum

Regulations.

In connection with start-up of new fields, a production permit application must be submitted a

minimum of six weeks before production start-up. The application applies for the current

calendar year or gas year.

In connection with start-up of new fields, flaring and cold venting volumes can be indicated as

the expected volume per month.

A production permit is not granted until the PDO is approved or an exemption from such plans

has been granted.