Composition of licensees at time of award
In the past, the composition of ownership when production licences were awarded was characterised by a broad range of national, European and international companies. In recent years, the trend has been toward increasing domination by Norwegian players.
Visualising networks can provide insight into how companies and types of companies collaborate in the various phases of licences – from exploration to production and decommissioning. The need for cooperation and player diversity will presumably vary among the respective phases, based on both technical and commercial factors.
Figure 4.1 illustrates a network figure for groups of companies at the time licences are awarded. Companies apply for ownership interests either on their own, or as partners in a joint venture with multiple companies. The ultimate licensee composition is determined by the authorities. This composition can change through acquisition, sale and swap of ownership interests in the secondary market, while most transactions take place after the exploration phase. Consequently, the composition at the time of award can provide a picture of collaborative patterns between the companies in the exploration phase.
Network graph
A Force-Directed Network Graph is a powerful visualisation tool used to illustrate relationships and connections between entities. The "force-directed" aspect means that the layout is determined by simulating physical forces – nodes repel each other like charged particles, while edges act as springs that pull connected nodes together. This results in a visual layout where related nodes form clusters.
Figure 4.1 shows that collaboration in the initial period is characterised by a broad range of national, European and international companies. In the final period, the collaborative pattern is more dominated by Norwegian players. Figure 4.2 shows a comparable network figure at company level.
Figure 4.1 Network visualisation of the composition of licensees at time of award, distributed by company categories. The size of the bubbles (nodes) shows the relative proportion of licences distributed by company categories.
Figure 4.2 Network visualisation of licensee composition at award, distributed by companies.
Updated: 12/11/2025