Norway To Maintain 2022 Gas Production Levels Over 4 To 5 Years

Norway plans to export around 122 billion cubic meters (bcm) of natural gas in 2023, in line with last year’s level, and to maintain this volume for the next four or five years.

Norwegian Minister of Petroleum and Energy Terje Aasland said on Thursday that the Norwegian authorities had updated the estimate for the sales from gas from the Norwegian continental shelf in 2023 and that the estimate was 122 bcm, the same level as for 2022.

“The expectation is that today’s high level can be maintained for the next four to five years,” Minister Aasland added.

According to Reuters, the output for 2022, which had not previously been released, was up 8 percent from 2021, in line with a previous government forecast, and similar to the all-time high of 122.37 bcm set in 2017.

Norway, Europe’s top supplier, primarily pipes its gas to receiving terminals in Britain, Germany, France, and Belgium and late in 2022 also opened a new pipeline to Poland via Denmark.

The country also shipped more liquefied natural gas by tanker from its Arctic Hammerfest plant, which restarted operations in May after having been offline since a fire in 2020.

Equinor and other petroleum firms in Norway have sought to increase their gas production as the war in Ukraine has caused an energy crunch and soaring prices in Europe.

Reuters stated that official forecasts released at the start of the year showed Norway had planned to export 115 bcm in 2022, lagging the record 122.37 bcm it exported in 2017.

To contact the author, email bojan.lepic@rigzone.com