January 09, 2025 [Reuters]- Norway’s natural gas production rose by 6.9% in 2024 to a record 124 billion cubic metres (bcm) but is expected to ease slightly this year, the Norwegian Offshore Directorate (NOD) said on Thursday.
Norway became Europe’s largest supplier of natural gas following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in 2022, providing about 30% of all gas imports to the European Union.
“Since the transport of gas from Russia through Ukraine ended at the turn of this year, gas from Norway has become even more important,” NOD Director General Torgeir Stordal said in a statement.
Norway’s gas output rose from 116 bcm in 2023, a year that was heavily impacted by maintenance outages, and also beat a record set in 2022 of 122.8 bcm, NOD data published on Thursday showed.
The Equinor-operated North Sea Troll field produced a record 42.5 bcm of gas last year, accounting for more than 10% of Europe’s demand alone, the company said earlier this week.
The NOD forecast that Norway will produce 120.4 bcm of gas in 2025, a decline of 2.9% year-on-year, and remaining at near this level until 2027 before a further dip to 110.8 bcm in 2029.
Norway’s crude oil output is expected to remain broadly unchanged at 102.2 million cubic meters (mcm) in 2025 compared with 2024, equivalent to about 1.8 million barrels per day, the forecasts showed.
By 2029, crude oil output is expected to fall to 81.2 mcm.
The NOD said more exploration as well as investments in the existing discoveries and fields were needed to arrest the expected decline.
“Failure to invest will lead to rapid dismantling of the petroleum activities,” it added.
Critics, however, say policies aimed at continuing exploration and new developments contradict Norway’s international commitment to reduce its greenhouse gas emissions from its most polluting sector.
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