Norway set new records in oil and gas sales from fields on its shelf and is working to continue attracting companies to explore in its designated areas and develop new projects.
Norway’s government and offshore authorities prioritise responsible resource development and ensure predictable licensing and fiscal frameworks for the operators on the Norwegian continental shelf.
Norway’s Oil and Gas Sales Soar to Records
Amid political unrest and conflicts globally, and high demand for non-Russian energy in Europe, Norwegian exports of oil and gas hit new record-highs in 2024, the Norwegian Offshore Directorate said in its annual report at the end of April.
Overall oil and gas production from the Norwegian continental shelf (NCS) hit last year its highest level since 2009. Around 30 percent of the gas consumed in Europe came from Norway, which illustrates the importance of resources from the NCS for the energy security in both the EU and the UK, the Norwegian directorate said.
Many new projects are under development offshore Norway, and these are expected to contribute to sustain production levels in the years to come.
“The Directorate’s primary objective is to contribute toward securing the greatest possible value for society from oil and gas activities on the NCS. The Directorate aims to accomplish this by means of effective and prudent resource management, including consideration for health, safety, the environment, and other users of the sea,” the authority said.
Much of Norway’s proven resources remain in operating fields, which is why the Directorate has made systematic efforts to increase recovery from these fields by urging the licensees to drill more production wells and/or implement other measures to boost output.
There were few applications for approval of new developments in 2024. However, planning is underway to develop a number of discoveries going forward.
The Directorate expects oil and gas production from the NCS to fall gradually in the coming years. But the level of the decline will depend on the volume of new resources discovered and how much of these discovered resources are developed and actually come on stream.
“The industry’s willingness and ability to explore for new resources, and actually produce them, will be extremely important to avoid an unnecessarily sharp decline in production,” said the Directorate.
Technology advancements will play an increasingly important role in resource discovery and development offshore Norway, the authority noted.
Apart from oil and gas, industry has shown interest in developing projects to safely store carbon dioxide (CO2) on the NCS. Since the Norwegian Parliament voted to open the door to activity related to minerals on the seabed, the Directorate has worked to prepare draft regulations surrounding the administration of such a potential new industry.
Over the past decade, operators have kept high activity and continuous exploration in the mature areas of the shelf thanks to the annual APA (Awards in predefined areas) licences, the Directorate said in a separate overview in April.
The annual APA rounds have been the key driver of exploration on the Norwegian shelf, as a result of more than 20 years of continuous expansion of the available acreage and the authorities ensuring predictable framework conditions through the annual licensing rounds, the Directorate noted.
The Awards in Predefined Areas (APA) are announced every year and comprise the mature parts of the shelf, with known geology and good infrastructure.
“This has ensured predictability for the industry. Nearly all acreage opened for petroleum activity on the NCS is now included in APA. There is still some acreage available within the mature areas where there has been less exploration,” said Kjersti Dahle, Director of offshore new ventures.
“We encourage more exploration and a greater willingness to take chances. Higher risk can yield higher rewards.”
The APA licensing rounds were introduced for the most explored parts of the continental shelf in 2003. It is important to ensure good utilisation of the infrastructure over time in order to achieve good resource management and high value creation. Companies have until September this year to nominate blocks for next year’s APA round.
Young Source Rock Discovered West of Svalbard
Studies of natural oil and gas seeps from the seabed have yielded new knowledge about a previously overlooked young source rock, the Directorate has said.
Source rocks are the rocks that have the potential to generate oil and/or natural gas and are essential to the formation of oil and natural gas fields. The evaluation of the source rock characteristics is critical to the precise assessment for exploration.
Now a young source rock has been discovered.
“It’s the work done in cooperation with the academic community west of Svalbard that led to the discovery of the new, young source rock, and what appears to be a functioning petroleum system linked to it,” said Rune Mattingsdal, a geologist with the Norwegian Offshore Directorate, who has worked to map natural oil and gas seeps over the course of several years.
“A functioning source rock is the most important criteria for discovering oil and/or gas,” Mattingsdal added.
This young source rock may have formed hydrocarbons where it’s situated, buried deep under Bjørnøyvifta in the Norwegian Sea, west of the Barents Sea from the shelf edge and out into the deep sea.
Bjørnøyvifta is poorly explored and the area is not open for petroleum activity. But oil and gas that have formed may be significant for acreage open for drilling in the westernmost part of the Barents Sea, the Directorate said.
Sulphide Deposits in Norway’s Shelf
The Centre for Deep Sea Research at the University of Bergen (UiB) and the Norwegian Offshore Directorate have discovered a new sulphide location on the Knipovich Ridge, west of Svalbard.
Sulphide minerals are compounds of sulphur with one or several metals.
The newly-discovered “Gygra” deposit is situated at 2,800 metres below sea level, the Directorate said.
A sulphide sample was collected during an expedition along the Knipovich Ridge in December 2024.
“Further mapping of the area was conducted in March of this year, and we are now certain that we’ve discovered a new sulphide deposit,” said Hilde Braut, Assistant director of the new industries in the Norwegian Offshore Directorate.
The inactive sulphide deposit known as “Gygra” was discovered as part of a broader survey in the area surrounding the previously proven “Jøtul” sulphide deposit. Gygra is located just over a kilometre southeast of “Jøtul”.
First analyses indicate that the material at Gygra contains between 2 percent and 30 percent copper. The presence of the mineral atacamite confirms a high copper content, the Directorate said.
More Nordic Cooperation Needed in Electricity
Norway needs to work more closely with the other Nordic countries to see how they can handle increasing production of intermittent energy, Norway’s Minister of Energy Terje Aasland said in his speech at the opening of the Nordic Electricity Markets Forum in Oslo in May.
“Our strong cooperation is the key to success for the green shift,” Aasland added.
“We must build stronger grids, encourage more flexibility, and keep our markets open and efficient.”
The minister concluded, “By staying close and developing our shared market, we can make sure the Nordics stay ahead in the green transition – and boost our competitiveness in a changing world.”
In floating wind, the EFTA Surveillance Authority (ESA) has approved a State aid scheme for developing a floating offshore wind farm on the Norwegian continental shelf.
The aid scheme aims to support the development of a new, floating offshore wind farm in Utsira Nord in the North Sea, off the coast of Rogaland County.
The aid, which will be administered by the Norwegian Ministry of Energy and will be granted in the form of a direct grant, has a total budget of NOK 35 billion (EUR 2.95 billion).
“The wind farm will increase renewable energy production in Norway, support electrification, and cut fossil fuel dependency in transport, industry, and business,” ESA said.
Norway participates in the EU’s internal energy market through the European Economic Area (EEA) agreement. It is also part of the Nordic power market and integrated into the wider European market through interconnectors.
