NORSK HYDRO, SAGA SEEK DRILLING RIGHTS IN GABON Norwegian oil companies Norsk Hydro A/S <NHY.OL> and Saga Petroleum A/S <SAGO.OL> said they have applied for offshore exploration drilling licenses in Gabon on Africa's west coast. Saga Petroleum said it has applied for a 35 pct share and operatorship on one block, adding Finnish oil company Neste <NEOY.HE>(25 pct), Spain's Hispanoil (25 pct), and the World Bank's International Finance Corporation (IFS) (15 pct) have joined Saga to fill remaining shares in the application. Saga spokesman Roy Halvorsen told Reuters he expected Gabonese officials would reply to the application by Easter. Halvorsen said this is the first time Saga has applied to operate on OPEC-member Gabon's continental shelf, adding that Italian oil company Agip is heading a group of applicants in a separate bid for the same license. Norsk Hydro has also applied for an undisclosed share in a single exploration license in which U.S. Oil company Tenneco has already been assigned operatorship, company spokesman Bjoern Tretvoll said.