A production licence is normally awarded to a group of companies headed by a designated operator. Including several companies in one licence enables less experienced companies to learn from those with more experience, and the different companies can control the operator’s activities and together ensure that the best possible decisions are made.
At the end of 2017, a total of 43 exploration and production companies were active on the Norwegian shelf: 27 companies as operators and a further 16 as partners in production licences. The diversity of companies of all sizes promotes competition and efficiency. It also ensures interest in different types of projects, and implementation of different kinds of new and cost effective technologies.