Exploration activity and resource growth
Investments in exploration activity, the number of wildcat wells and resource growth on the NCS have been lower over the past decade compared with the previous one. The development in exploration activity reveals a distinct shift from global to Norwegian players, and to some extent, also European companies. Companies whose primary activity is on the NCS account for about 60 per cent of exploration investments over the past decade.
Investments in exploration
Average exploration costs in the last decade are substantially lower than in the previous decade. Figure 3.1 shows investments in exploration on the NCS distributed by the various company categories over the past 20 years.
Figure 3.1 Exploration costs distributed by company categories, 2005-2024.
Norwegian state companies, Norwegian oil and gas specialists, E&P companies and Exploration companies are types of companies which mainly target the NCS, with little or no activity in other petroleum provinces (with the exception of Equinor). These companies account for around 60 per cent of the exploration costs in the last decade.
Drilling wildcat wells
In a similar manner as for exploration investments, the longer term trend in number of wildcat wells drilled over time, with the exception of 2019, reveals lower activity in the last decade than in the previous one (Figure 3.2).
However, the trend is not as pronounced as for investments in exploration. Companies with their main focus on the NCS primarily account for the largest percentage of wildcat wells over the last decade (around 60 per cent). European industrialists/energy companies and the other international companies account for the largest share of the decline in number of wildcat wells.
The figure also shows the number of wildcat wells distributed by company category in the various sea areas. Companies with a significantly greater part of their activities on the NCS dominate in the North Sea and in the Barents Sea. However, the diversity of companies seen in the North and Norwegian Seas can’t be observed in the Barents Sea.
Figure 3.2 Number of wildcat wells spudded, distributed by overall company types on the NCS, and by sea areas, 2005-2024.
Figure 3.3 shows that the number of wildcat (spudded) wells drilled more than 65 kilometres from infrastructure has declined in the past decade, as compared with the previous decade. Most wildcat wells are drilled close to existing infrastructure. This is particularly true for the past five years.
Norwegian state companies are drilling the majority of these wells and, in the past four years, only Norwegian state companies and Norwegian oil and gas specialists have drilled wildcat wells more than 65 kilometres from planned and existing infrastructure.
Figure 3.3 Number of spudded wildcat wells drilled more than 65 kilometres from infrastructure, distributed by operators within company categories, 2005-2024.
Resource growth
Resource growth over the past decade is substantially reduced, as compared with the previous decade (Figure 3.4). While companies, whose main focus is on the NCS, account for 67 per cent of resource growth in the past decade, the comparable shares for European industry/energy companies and other types of companies are 17 and 16 per cent respectively.
Figure 3.4 Resource growth distributed by company categories, 2005-2024.
Updated: 12/11/2025