Norway Awards New Oil and Gas Production Licences

That the Parliament notes reports that Norway has awarded 57 new oil and gas productionlicences to 19 companies in its latest Awards in Predefined Areas (AP) round,which, it understands, reinforces continued exploration in mature parts of theNorwegian continental shelf; understands that the licences, 31 of which are inthe Norwegian sector of the North Sea, underline Norway’s intention to keepproduction going in their three established basins in the North Sea, theNorwegian Sea and the Barents Sea; considers that this shows that Norwayis making the most of its resources, supporting high value investment as globalenergy markets undergo broader transition, in direct contrast, it believes, tothe situation in the UK, where the Energy Profits Levy is leading to apremature shutdown of production in Scottish waters; calls on the UK Governmentto follow Norway's lead and adopt a more practical approach to its energypolicy before any more damage is done to the oil and gas sector in the NorthEast, and believes that this is a perfect example of how smaller nations arebetter suited to steward their own resources when they have the full powers ofindependence to allow them to do so.