No details of the oil and gas licensing round in the British North Sea will emerge until after the official mourning period for Queen Elizabeth ends on September 20th an industry regulator said on Monday.
The North Sea Transition Authority, formerly known as the Oil and Gas Authority, is in charge of issuing oil and gas exploration licences.
Last week the UK government announced a new licensing round for more than 100 oil and gas North Sea exploration licences this week as part of an energy package seeking to bolster energy security and curb soaring costs.
But the government cannot make an announcement during the mourning period.
The move is designed to boost long-term energy supply issues in the UK as it typically takes five to ten years from exploration until oil and gas is produced from a new field.
This would be the first British oil and gas licensing rounds since 2019 as forms part of the government’s plans to deal with the ongoing energy crisis.
Britain and other countries across Europe have been forced to push through multibillion-euro packages to prevent utilities from collapsing and protect households from soaring energy costs triggered mainly by the fallout from Russia's invasion of Ukraine.
The government pledged last week that its energy price cap would be in place for October 1st with the timing unaffected by the country’s mourning period.