The North Sea Transition Authority (NSTA) has announced 24 new exploration licences to 17 companies in the Central North Sea, Northern North Sea and West of Shetland.
They're part of the second tranche of licences awarded during the 33rd oil and gas licencing round.
It follows the awarding of 27 licences offered in October last year as part of the first allocation.
The North Sea's major players, including BP, Equinor, NEO, Shell and Total are among the companies to be awarded licences, which range across 74 blocks and part-blocks.
A total of 900 blocks were made available when the licencing round opened in October 2022, closing three months later after 115 bids from 76 companies.
Equinor were the biggest winners this time, securing 14 blocks across two licences, one being shared with subsidiary Suncor Energy.
'More to come'
The second tranche of licences won't be the last, with an NSTA spokesperson confirming more will awarded in due course.
"This latest batch brings total offers so far to 51, with more to come once the appropriate environmental checks are complete.
"These licences have the potential to make a significant contribution to the UK in energy production and economic benefits, and the NSTA will work alongside the licensees to help bring them into production as quickly as possible."
In addition, Minister for Energy, Security and Net Zero Graham Stuart said: "We will continue to need oil and gas over the coming decades, so it is common sense to make the most of our own resources – with domestically produced gas almost four times cleaner than importing Liquefied Natural Gas from abroad.
"These new licences will strengthen our energy security now and into the future, while also helping boost our economy, by backing an industry that supports 200,000 jobs and is worth £16 billion each year."