UK Continental Shelf Act comes into force

It extended the licensing provisions in the Petroleum Production Act of 1934, which had been confined to land operations. Regulations were accordingly issued in 1966 on awarding licences for operations both on land and offshore. These rules divided the UKCS into quadrants, which were sub-divided in turn into blocks. The latter were put on offer in licensing rounds.

Exploration licences were awarded for three years and production licences for six. They could be renewed. A similar system was adopted by the Norwegian government when Norway’s first offshore licensing round was announced in 1965.