DNO wins 17 licenses in Norway’s APA round, maintaining rapid exploration pace

DNO ASA has been awarded participation in 17 exploration licenses offshore Norway under the country’s APA 2025 licensing round, continuing the company’s active exploration and development strategy on the Norwegian continental shelf.

The licenses, awarded to wholly owned subsidiary DNO Norge AS, include four operatorships. Fifteen of the new licenses are located in the North Sea, with the remaining two in the Norwegian Sea.

DNO said the awards strengthen its position in core areas where it has delivered a commercial exploration success rate of more than 50% over the past three years, recording 12 discoveries from 22 wells drilled. The company currently has four field developments underway in Norway, including the fast-track Kjøttkake discovery, which is targeting first oil in early 2028. Three additional development projects are expected to be submitted for approval this year.

Prior to the APA 2025 awards, DNO held interests in 124 licenses offshore Norway, including 30 producing oil and gas fields. The company said the new acreage supports its strategy of advancing discoveries rapidly from exploration to production.