Energy operators offshore Norway expect to invest $24.8 billion (249 billion Norwegian crowns) in oil and gas activities next year, Statistics Norway’s latest quarterly survey showed on Thursday.
The estimate is $1.9 billion higher compared to the previous quarter’s forecast, mainly driven by higher forecasts of investments in field development and operating fields, the Norwegian statistics office said.
The increased estimate of investment in field development is chiefly pushed up by higher costs being reported for some development projects.
Since the autumn of 2024, the total costs of the ongoing projects have increased by about $6 billion (60 billion crowns), or by 17%, Statistics Norway noted.
Still, investment in oil and gas, including pipelines, in Norway is set to decline in 2026 from the record high of $27.4 billion (275 billion crowns) expected for 2025.
Norway has been boosting its gas production since 2022 when it overtook Russia as Europe’s top gas supplier. Not a member of the EU, but a NATO founding member and key EU and UK ally, Norway looks to continue providing the gas Europe needs.
Major new oilfields, including the Johan Castberg oilfield, Norway’s northernmost and second-largest producing field in the Barents Sea, have boosted crude oil production, too.
Companies operating offshore Norway are raising production of gas and oil, with the support of the Norwegian government, which continues to bet on the oil and gas industry and the massive revenues it raises for the country and its sovereign wealth fund, the world’s largest.
Norway has also started to plan its 26th oil and gas licensing round in little-explored frontier areas as it looks to boost exploration and resources to stem an expected decline in production from the early 2030s.
Western Europe’s largest oil and gas producer, Norway, is not complacent. It is aware that it needs more exploration and new field developments to keep output at high levels while the world still needs it.
“Norway wants to be a long-term supplier of oil and gas to Europe, while the Norwegian continental shelf will continue to create value and jobs for our country,” Energy Minister Terje Aasland said in August, announcing the plans for the new licensing round.
By Tsvetana Paraskova for Oilprice.com
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