Norway Decides to Cut Oil Production

Norway’s ministry of petroleum and energy revealed Wednesday that the country has decided to cut its oil production.

Norwegian output will be reduced by 250,000 barrels per day (bpd) in June and 134,000 bpd in the second half of this year, Norway’s minister of petroleum and energy, Tina Bru, outlined in a ministry statement yesterday.

“The cut will include oil fields on the Norwegian Continental Shelf and be fairly distributed between the fields and thereby between companies,” Bru said.

“It will imply a limitation of production for those oil companies with ownership shares in the relevant oil fields. Gas fields are exempt. Thus, the cut will not affect Norwegian gas production or Norwegian gas exports,” the energy minister added.

The start-up of production of several fields will also be delayed until 2021, according to the minister.

Norway’s energy ministry said the corona pandemic, and the efforts to contain it in large parts of the world, have had “substantial impact” on economic activity globally and oil demand.

The ministry added that, in the current “unprecedented” situation, cuts in oil production introduced by the government will contribute to a faster stabilization of the oil market “compared to letting the rebalancing take place only though the market mechanism”.

Norway accounts for approximately two percent of global oil production, according to the ministry, which has previously stated that it will consider a cut in production if several big producing countries implement significant cuts. 

The principal responsibility of Norway’s ministry of petroleum and energy is to achieve a coordinated and integrated energy policy, according to its website, which also states that a primary objective is to ensure high value creation through efficient and environment-friendly management of Norway’s energy resources.

Bru was appointed as energy minister on January 24, 2020.

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