Norway faces challenges as oil production no longer grows

Jan 14, 2008, 13:43 GMT

Oslo - Norway has to prepare for a shift from being a major oil producer as production is no longer growing, Petroleum and Energy Minister Aslaug Haga said Monday.

At a joint briefing about the 2007 oil and gas year, director Bente Nyland of the Norwegian Petroleum Directorate noted that oil production on the Norwegian continental shelf in 2007 was slightly lower than in 2006 while gas production increased.

In 2007, 237.8 million standard cubic metres of oil equivalents were produced, down 10 per cent compared to the record year 2004.

In 2007, four new oil and gas fields went into production, Nyland said.

Haga said the oil and gas industry faced 'new challenges,' citing the climate debate and production moving further north in Norway, and the growing importance of gas production.

While Norway has 'the world's cleanest oil production,' the country has to continue to reduce emissions of carbon dioxide, Haga said.

Nyland said challenges in 2008 and beyond would be to 'continue to maintain production from mature fields' and continue to explore new fields despite higher costs linked to capacity constraints, higher steel prices and other expenses.

In 2007, 32 exploration wells were drilled compared to 26 in 2006.

Norway has not reported any major oil finds for the past 10 years, Haga said, noting that 36 per cent of the state revenues derived from oil and gas.

Norway was the world's fifth largest oil exporter and the third in terms of gas exports, Haga said.