Category: Norway

Norway’s economic growth slowed in the second quarter as plunging crude prices sap investments and drive up unemployment in western Europe’s biggest petroleum producer. Seasonally adjusted gross domestic product, excluding oil, gas and shipping, grew 0.2 percent, after expanding a revised 0.3 percent in the first quarter, Oslo-based Statistics Norway said on Thursday. Mainland growth was seen at 0.2 percent in a Bloomberg survey. Total output shrank 0.1 percent. “We have confirmation that the economy is decelerating,” said Kjersti Haugland, an analyst at DNB ASA. “There will be a prolonged period of slow growth” as the impact of lower oil prices feeds into the economy, she said. The slump in oil prices is proving painful for Norway’s economy, with almost half its exports related to petroleum. Crude producers and service companies such as state-controlled Statoil ASA have cut more than 20,000 jobs, sending ripples through an economy where one […]

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Norwegian arm of struggling oil field services company Baker Hughes bags contract for Johan Sverdrup reserve basin, one of the largest ever discovered off the coast of Norway. Photo courtesy of Statoil. STAVANGER, Norway, July 6 (UPI) — The Norwegian arm of oil services company Baker Hughes received a $187 million contract for onshore services supporting the Johan Sverdrup field, Statoil said. "Drilling will commence in 2016," Oivind Reinertsen, Statoil’s senior vice president for Johan Sverdrup development, said in a statement. "Together with Baker Hughes we will quickly establish an integrated operations team, working closely with the [Norwegian] drilling and rig contractor Odfjell to plan and optimize well deliveries." The contract for Baker Hughes runs for six years and includes four-year options for the life of field, one of the largest discoveries ever made on the Norwegian continental shelf. There was no statement on the contract from Baker Hughes, […]

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Norwegian government determines share allocation at Johan Sverdrup oil field, one of the largest ever made off the nation’s coast. Photo courtesy of Statoil OSLO, Norway, July 2 (UPI) — Delineating which company holds what percentage of the interest in Norway’s giant Johan Sverdrup field boosts development potential, executives said. Partners to Johan Sverdrup, the fifth largest oil field ever discovered on the Norwegian continental shelf, asked the government to determine the final share allocation when they submitted formal development plans in February. Maersk Oil, which takes the lowest stake at 8.4 percent, said the determination is a watershed moment for the offshore field. "We are pleased that we now have clarity on the ownership," Morten Jeppesen, managing director for Norwegian operations, said in a statement. "It allows the partner companies to focus on moving forward and develop this giant field in the best possible way." Though the share […]

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Norway confirms minor discovery made by Statoil in frontier territory in the North Sea. Photo courtesy of Statoil. OSLO, Norway, July 1 (UPI) — The Norwegian government confirmed Wednesday oil and gas reserves were discovered in a North Sea area not known previously to contain hydrocarbons. The Norwegian Petroleum Directorate, the nation’s energy regulator, said reserves were discovered in appraisal and wildcat, one drilled in an untapped area, near the existing Gina Krog field in the North Sea. The NPD said the objective of the well was to prove and delineate the potential for commercial volumes of oil and natural gas. For the discovery as a whole, the regulator said it estimated the size of the discovery at between 35 million and 70 million cubic feet of oil equivalent, which would be an average 9.3 million barrels if the entire discovery existed as oil. There was no comment on […]

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Norwegian government says oil and natural gas production increased in May in a possible sign of stability in a weak crude oil market. File UPI/Shutterstock/James Jones Jr. OSLO, Norway, June 24 (UPI) — Oil and natural gas production from Norwegian basins increased last month, with oil output up 2.4 percent year-on-year, the government said Wednesday. The Norwegian Petroleum Directorate, the nation’s energy regulator, said oil production in May was 1.51 million barrels per day, which is 2.4 percent above May 2014 and 1 percent above what the regulator expected. Total sales of natural gas were 307 billion cubic feet, also an increase from the previous month. Production figures come amid modest stabilization in the crude oil market, with prices about 25 percent higher than early 2015 lows. After the Norwegian government in January handed out 54 licenses for operations in the North, Norwegian and Barents seas, Energy Minister Tord […]

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Photo A coal-fired plant in Germany. Norway’s $890 billion government pension fund will shift money away from companies using coal. Credit Patrik Stollarz/Agence France-Presse — Getty Images Norway’s $890 billion government pension fund, considered the largest sovereign wealth fund in the world, will sell off many of its investments related to coal, making it the biggest institution yet to join a growing international movement to abandon at least some fossil fuel stocks. Parliament voted Friday to order the fund to shift its holdings out of billions of dollars of stock in companies whose businesses rely at least 30 percent on coal. A committee vote last week made Friday’s decision all but a formality; it will take effect next year. The decision — which could seem paradoxical, given that Norway is a major producer of oil and gas — is certain to add momentum to a push to divest in […]

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OSLO, Norway, May 22 (UPI) — The Norwegian government said Friday energy company Statoil came up empty-handed when drilling in a frontier prospect near the Helm field in the Norwegian Sea. The Norwegian Petroleum Directorate said Statoil is finishing drilling operations at wildcat wells , those drilled in an area not previously known to contain oil or gas reserves, about three miles north of the Hyme field. "The well is classified as dry," the NPD said in a data review. The company spent more than $790 million on developing the Hyme prospect, getting the project into production ahead of schedule in early 2013. Statoil estimates the field holds as much as 30 million barrels of oil equivalent. Most of the recoverable reserves exist as oil deposits. The company said the field, discovered in 2009, should be able to produce oil and natural gas past 2020. NPD said preliminary data […]

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BG Group comes up empty handed in latest exploration effort in Norwegian waters of the North Sea. Photo by James Jones Jr./Shutterstock OSLO, Norway, April 17 (UPI) — A Norwegian energy regulator said Friday a subsidiary of British energy company BG Group came up dry while drilling in the northern waters of the North Sea. The Norwegian Petroleum Directorate said operator BG Norge was targeting reserves about three miles away from the Knarr prospect in the North Sea. "Extensive data acquisition and sampling has been carried out," the regulator said in a statement. "The well is classified as dry." BG Group started production from the Knarr field in March using a floating production, storage and offloading vessel that has a production capacity of 63,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day and a storage capacity of 800,000 barrels. The Knarr field is expected to remain in production for at least […]

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Norwegian energy company Statoil makes second gas discovery in Norwegian Sea in less than a month. Image courtesy of Statoil. STAVANGER, Norway, April 13 (UPI) — Norwegian energy company Statoil said Monday it made a gas discovery in the Norwegian Sea in an area near a find made less than a month ago. The company said it made a discovery in the Roald Rygg prospect in the Aasta Hansteen area of the Norwegian Sea. The company estimates the volume of the discovery to be between 12 million and 44 million barrels of oil equivalent. The deepwater platform tied to Aasta Hansteen will be among the largest in the world once full field production begins in 2017. The reserve area is "one of the main projects" in Statoil’s portfolio, the company said. Norway is among the top natural gas exporters to the European market. Natural gas discoveries last year increased […]

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Norwegian energy company Statoil starts process of laying a gas pipeline across the Arctic Circle to onshore processing terminal. Image courtesy: Statoil STAVANGER, Norway, March 27 (UPI) — Norwegian energy company Statoil said Friday it started the pioneering project of laying gas pipeline across the arctic waters of the Norwegian Sea. The company started the process of laying the 300-mile long Polarled pipeline from the Aasta Hansteen field in the Norwegian Sea across the Arctic Circle to a gas processing plant in the northwest of the country. Statoil said the project marks a regional milestone on several fronts . It’s the first large-diameter pipeline of its kind to be placed in waters of up to 4,150 feet deep and is the first pipeline to take gas across the Arctic Circle. "Polarled will have great and strategic impact on the future development of the region," Jan Heiberg, acting director of […]

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(Bloomberg) — Norway has many sources to tap as policy makers seek to wean the nation off its oil reliance. Besides its $850 billion sovereign wealth fund, Norway’s State Educational Loan Fund, which provides loans to students domestically and abroad and some international students in Norway, is prepared to serve as a buffer amid deepening economic strains, according to Chief Executive Officer Marianne Andreassen. “With a damping of the oil sector engine and the huge investments there, many who worked in those areas will need to work elsewhere,” Andreassen said in an interview. Western Europe’s biggest crude producer is facing what central bank Governor Oeystein Olsen calls a “period of restructuring” amid plunging oil prices. A 53 percent drop in Brent since a June high is endangering an economy that relies on oil and gas for more than one-fifth of its output. Oil and gas companies operating in Norway […]

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By Kjetil Malkenes Hovland OSLO–Norway’s oil and gas companies expect spending to drop 12% this year after reaching an all-time high in 2014, an official survey showed Thursday, as plunging oil prices compound an expected slowdown after years of double-digit growth. In 2015, oil companies operating in Norway, the world’s 10th-largest oil exporter, expect to invest 189.05 billion Norwegian kroner ($24.34 billion) in the industry, according to Statistics Norway’s first-quarter survey. Oil companies said they planned to spend less than previously expected on exploration and the operation of existing fields, likely due to the plunge in oil prices since last June, the statistics agency said. The survey was roughly in line with expectations. Spending last year reached at an all-time high at 214.31 billion kroner, but was up only 1% from the previous year, compared with double-digit percentage growth in each of the preceding three years. Industry association Norwegian […]

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Erna Solberg, Norway’s Prime Minister. Photographer: Simon Dawson/Bloomberg (Bloomberg) — Norway’s Prime Minister Erna Solberg risks being left in the lurch by her coalition partners as she seeks to steer western Europe’s biggest oil producer through a slump in crude prices. The 54-year-old called a meeting with her support parties for Tuesday to discuss a mounting discord in her coalition and “the challenges that Norway faces.” Tensions inside the coalition are growing as Finance Minister Siv Jensen’s Progress Party is increasingly at odds with the government’s two support parties over everything from economic and tax policies, to welfare spending and immigration. Solberg’s dilemma is that she needs “support from two centrist parties in parliament that basically disagree with the government on a lot of issues,” said Johannes Bergh, a researcher at the Institute for Social Research in Oslo. “That’s caused a lot of friction.” Support for the minority government, […]

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Norway’s economic model has long been much-admired. The Scandinavian country is one of the wealthiest nations in the world, thanks to 40 years of North Sea oil production. The global financial crisis barely registered amid decades of almost nonstop growth. More On this topic IN Europe But after a plunge in oil prices, policy makers and analysts in Oslo are now cautioning that this gilded era is coming to an end . “We cannot expect to grow continuously as we have over the past 10-15 years,” Øystein Olsen, Norway’s central bank governor, told the Financial Times. “We are going to be more in the same boat as our neighbouring countries.” Siv Jensen, Norwegian finance minister, added: “The past couple of decades are not to be continued.” Western Europe’s biggest oil producer is still a long way from crisis, the same policy makers note. The economy grew 3 per cent […]

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“Our financial position is robust, and we maintain a stable dividend,” Eldar Saetre, Statoil ASA’s chief executive officer, said in a statement. Photographer: Krister Soerboe/Bloomberg (Bloomberg) — Statoil ASA deepened cost cuts and halted dividend growth as Norway’s biggest energy company struggles to withstand a plunge in oil prices. The company will raise spending cuts by 30 percent to $1.7 billion from 2016 and lower capital expenditure to $18 billion this year from earlier targeting $20 billion, the Stavanger-based company said. Statoil reported fourth-quarter net operating income of 9 billion kroner ($1.2 billion), down from 43.9 billion kroner a year earlier. That missed an estimate of 26.3 billion kroner in a Bloomberg survey of analysts. Statoil followed competitors including Royal Dutch Shell Plc and Chevron Corp. in cutting billions of dollars in investments. They are seeking to protect profits after oil prices slumped by more than 50 percent in […]

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Norway sees record interest from energy companies eying its offshore reserves, but warns against unwarranted production expectations. (UPI/Shutterstock/James Jones Jr.) OSLO, Norway, Jan. 21 (UPI) — German energy company Wintershall said Wednesday there were emerging opportunities offshore Norway, where it’s one of the largest stakeholders. Wintershall said it won eight exploration licenses, serving as the operator at three, during the latest auction held by the Norwegian Ministry of Petroleum and Energy. With 50 licenses already in its books, the German oil and gas company is among the largest stakeholders in Norway. "As one of the fastest growing oil and gas companies in Norway, we are focused on turning our exploration success into developments and production," regional managing director Bernd Schrimpf said in a statement. "It is critical that we continue to replenish our license portfolio so that we can continue to operate in this way." The Norwegian government handed […]

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Norwegian energy company Statoil said there’s still a long life left in North Sea field. (UPI/Shutterstock/James Jones Jr.) STAVANGER, Norway, Jan. 9 (UPI) — Producing 700 million barrels of oil equivalent since 1997, Norwegian energy company Statoil said Friday it was extending the life of a North Sea field to 2030. Statoil said it was confident life for the Norne field development in the North Sea could be extended beyond the initial closure date in 2014. The field’s operational vice president, Kristin Westvik, said 17 years of systematic maintenance left infrastructure there in good shape. "In light of this we are now considering extending Norne’s life to 2030," she said in a statement. Statoil last year said it was forced to slash costs by more than $1 billion because of the low price for crude oil. Brent, the global benchmark derived from North Sea oils, is selling for around […]

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Norwegian energy company Statoil starts work at North Sea platform that will eventually be run by remote. Photo courtesy of Statoil STAVANGER, Norway, Jan. 5 (UPI) — Norwegian energy company Statoil said it started operations at a North Sea platform that will eventually be run by remote control from the shore. The company brought the Valemon natural gas and condensate field into production Saturday. It’s the second platform to be put into production by the company in the last nine months. "Valemon is one of several new projects on the Norwegian continental shelf that will help add value, activity and innovation, demonstrating well the long-term perspective that characterizes Statoil’s activity on the Norwegian continental shelf," Arne Sigve Nylund, executive vice president for development and production in Norway, said in a statement. The North Sea platform has accommodations for as many as 40 workers. Long-term, the facility will be unmanned […]

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As oil drops below $55 a barrel, speculation is growing that the central bank of western Europe ’s biggest crude producer will need to cut rates again. A 54 percent slump in Brent crude since a June high has pummeled the offshore industry in Norway , where oil and gas make up 22 percent of gross domestic product. Over the same period the krone has lost about 20 percent against the dollar and 8 percent against the euro. The OBX benchmark stock index is down about 12 percent. The central bank delivered a surprise rate cut last month it said was triggered by plunging crude prices. Since then the oil price development has proven even worse than the central bank anticipated. In an interview yesterday, Governor Oeystein Olsen said $55 oil is “clearly lower” than expected in December. At Norway’s biggest bank, DNB ASA (DNB) , economists say Olsen […]

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OSLO — This has not been a particularly good year for Statoil , the huge state-controlled oil company that has had a commanding presence in Norway ’s economy and society for more than four decades. In the spring, Statoil cut 1,000 jobs, or 4 percent of its work force. In September, it postponed a much-criticized project in the Canadian tar sands for at least three years. On Oct. 29, reflecting collapsing oil prices and a steep tumble of its stock, it reported its first quarterly loss since 2001. And in November, it announced disappointing results from the year’s program of drilling for new oil and gas in the Norwegian Arctic. But it is not just the vicissitudes of oil markets and exploratory wells that are causing difficulties for Statoil. In an era of climate change , the company — and by extension Norway’s entire oil and gas industry, which […]

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OSLO, Dec 23 (Reuters) – Norwegian energy firm Statoil has agreed to reduce its working interest in the non-operated Marcellus shale formation in the United States following a $394 million transaction with Southwestern Energy , it said on Tuesday. "The transaction reduces Statoil’s non-operated holdings at an attractive price, demonstrating the value of the Marcellus assets," head of Statoil’s U.S. onshore business, Torstein Hole, said in a statement. Statoil said it had agreed to reduce its stake in the U.S. Southern Marcellus onshore asset to 23 percent from 29. The divested share represents about 121 square km (12,100 hectares). Statoil’s third-quarter production from the Marcellus play amounted to 130,500 barrels of oil equivalent per day, of which around 4,000 barrels came from the assets included in the transaction. The transaction is expected to close in the first quarter next year, it added. (Reporting by Stine Jacobsen; Editing by Anand […]

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Oil services company Schlumberger gets drilling contract for work in Mariner field in the North Sea from Norway’s Statoil. UPI/A.J. Sisco. STAVANGER, Norway, Dec. 19 (UPI) — Norwegian energy company Statoil said Friday it awarded a drilling contract to oil services company Schlumberger for the vast Mariner field in the North Sea. Discovered in the early 1980s, production at Mariner was delayed because of technological limitations in extracting the denser type of oil. Statoil said it was bringing its experience in Canada and elsewhere to Mariner to facilitate heavy oil development. The British government expects the field to produce around 55,000 barrels of oil per day, about 5 percent of the country’s current output. Statoil said Schlumberger, for an undisclosed sum, will conduct all of the main drilling and well services for the Mariner field. "We will work side by side to meet the challenges in the market, driving […]

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Shell sheds some of its assets in Norway in cost-saving measure. UPI/Mohammad Kheirkhah Finnish fuels company ST1 acquires parts of the Norwegian downstream operations from Shell for an undisclosed sum. The company also takes a joint interest in Shell’s aviation business in Norway. Shell said the measure includes a special retail license agreement to ensure the brand remains "highly visible" in the Norwegian market. "The deal will have no impact on Shell’s other businesses in Norway," the Dutch company said in a statement. The decline in crude oil prices, nearly half of their June value, has forced some energy companies to streamline their portfolios to cope with the market stress. In October, Shell Chief Executive Officer Ben van Beurden said "the volatility in our industry" underlined the importance of keeping a tight hold on costs and spending . The Finnish company operates Shell’s retail fuel stations in Finland and […]

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Norwegian regulator shows oil production down about 5 percent year-on-year. (Photo: Shell) OSLO, Norway, Dec. 17 (UPI) — Production figures from Norway show average daily oil production down about 5 percent year-on-year, a national regulator said in Wednesday report. The Norwegian Petroleum Directorate released production figures for November , showing an average daily production of 1.46 million barrels of oil. "The oil production is 5 percent below the NPD’s prognosis for November and 5 percent below the oil production in November last year," the agency said in its report. Major oil companies from BP to Marathon have trimmed back their expectations as oil prices continue to lose value. The price of oil, nearly 50 percent below June values, is at a point where some drillers may no longer be able to make a profit. Noreco, a Norwegian energy company focused on North Sea oil operations, said Monday its financial […]

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Statoil still spending on North Sea developments despite volatility in the crude oil market. UP/ICasey J. Ranel/USCG STAVANGER, Norway, Dec. 17 (UPI) — A week after signaling a slowdown, Norwegian energy company Statoil said it was investing more than $600 million to develop a North Sea discovery. Statoil holds the majority interest in the Rutil discovery in the Gullfaks reserve area of the North Sea alongside its Norwegian state-owned counterpart Petoro and Austrian energy company OMV. Statoil said it would invest $610 million to develop the discovery using existing infrastructure. "By using existing infrastructure and standardized solutions we are able to create great value for our owners," Ivar Aasheim, a senior vice president for field development on the Norwegian continental shelf, said in a statement Tuesday. Statoil procurement head Jon Arnt Jacobsen said last week the company was suspending contracts for four rigs because of lower profitability. Analysis from […]

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As oil prices keep falling, BP Plc (BP/) is among Norwegian oil producers having to take a hard look at whether to kill off aging offshore fields earlier than planned because squeezing out the last barrels might not be worth it. BP is currently deciding on plans for the five fields it operates in Norway in a study to be completed in the first half, said Jan Erik Geirmo, a Stavanger-based spokesman. “Falling oil prices, lower production and more demanding operations, in addition to significant costs for shutting down and removing old installations and platforms, are continuous challenges that may have an impact on the lifetime of some of our fields,” Geirmo said in an e-mailed reply to questions. What goes for BP also goes for an industry hit by squeezed margins even as the government demands it meet commitments to keep investing to ensure resources are exploited in […]

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Norwegian oil company Statoil said its suspending rig operations in a tough investment climate. UPI/A.J. Sisco.. STAVANGER, Norway, Dec. 5 (UPI) — Current market conditions are making it difficult to sustain drilling operations in Norwegian territorial waters, a procurement director at Statoil said Friday. The bear market for crude oil has forced some in the industry to scale back on their near-term investment forecasts. Brent crude oil prices traded near the $69 per barrel mark Friday for the January contract. Statoil procurement head Jon Arnt Jacobsen said the company was suspending contracts for four rigs because of lower profitability . "This situation is unfortunate, and we are doing what we can to minimize the extent of the suspensions," he said in a statement. The company last month suspended operations for rigs working in the Barents Sea through the end of the year, including Transocean Spitsbergen, which has a day […]

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A drilling rig in the Skaanevik fjord in western Norway. Oil’s price plunge is forecast… ENLARGE A drilling rig in the Skaanevik fjord in western Norway. Oil’s price plunge is forecast to drag down Norway’s economic growth to 1% this year. Associated Press OSLO—A sharp drop in oil prices since the summer is creating a heap of trouble for Norway. Big investments in the oil sector have helped keep the Nordic country’s economy humming along in recent years while many of its European peers faced sluggish growth or even recession. But signs are piling up that one of the world’s wealthiest petro-economies is in for a significant slowdown. A survey by Statistics Norway on Thursday said oil companies expect to reduce investment spending by 14% next year, which it said could drag the country’s economic growth down to 1% from an estimated 2.6% this year. The dire forecast comes […]

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Royal Dutch Shell Plc (RDSA) may close its Draugen oil field in the Norwegian Sea a decade earlier than in a prior assessment of the area’s potential lifespan because of rising costs and a slump in oil prices . Europe’s biggest oil company expects production in the field to extend until 2024 to 2027 after previously estimating a potential of as long as 2036, Odin Estensen, an asset manager at its Norway unit, said yesterday in an interview in Stavanger. “It’s becoming more and more difficult to keep these tail-end fields going,” he said. The cost of operations and upgrades has risen and “when you put the oil-price on top of that, the picture is clear: we’re under pressure,” Estensen said. Shell is among oil companies reining in spending as higher costs in the past decade eroded returns, delaying projects. Oil prices, down by about a third since June, […]

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Norway’s Statoil AS A said on Monday that the giant Johan Sverdrup oil field in the North Sea could generate revenue of 1.35 trillion Norwegian kroner ($199.21 billion) over the next five Continue Reading

Print Back to story Norway , where oil helped create one of the world’s most stable and prosperous societies, finds itself among the most exposed to falling crude prices. Though the blessings of energy wealth have hardly turned to a curse, the industry’s highest labor costs, which saw the average offshore worker earn $179,000 last year, threaten to curb investment as oil tumbles. In August, Helge Lund, chief executive officer of state oil company Statoil ASA (STL) , remarked that while $100-a-barrel oil once provided an excuse for champagne, it now barely covered the expense of new projects. Two months later, with crude hovering near $85 a barrel and Lund, the leading figure in Norway’s oil industry for 10 years, moving to a smaller British competitor, lower prices risk undermining economic growth and cutting tax receipts. Norway has already been coping with 13 years of production declines from its […]

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Greenpeace says it’s vindicated after Statoil turns up low gas volumes in frontier arctic drilling campaign. (Photo: Greenpeace) OSLO, Norway, Oct. 10 (UPI) — A small natural gas discovery in the arctic Barents Sea waters by Norway’s Statoil shows the risky campaign isn’t worth it, Greenpeace said Friday. The Norwegian Petroleum Directorate characterized a discovery in a wildcat well in the Johan Castberg area of the Barents Sea as a small find for the Norwegian energy company . A wildcat well is one drilled into an area not known previously to contain oil or gas reserves. Erlend Tellnes, a Greenpeace campaigner, said the announcement of low gas volumes was a victory for the environment. "Statoil unsuccessful drilling campaign in the Barents Sea shows that the strategy to be more aggressive in the Arctic has been unsuccessful," the campaigner said in a statement emailed to United Press International. More than […]

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Norwegian energy company Statoil working with partners on assessing energy data in Barents Sea. UPI/A.J. Sisco.. STAVANGER, Norway, Oct. 2 (UPI) — Norwegian energy company Statoil said Thursday it was making strides in opening up new exploration areas in the Barents Sea. The company announced it finished a seismic survey program in the southeastern waters of the Barents Sea through a multilateral process. Statoil said new forms of cooperation in that field translate to a more efficient way to acquire data . "This warrants rethinking and exploring new business approaches and forms of cooperation in order to reduce costs and work more efficiently also elsewhere," Jan Helgesen, Statoil’s head of geophysical operations, said in a statement. The company said data would be ready for review by late 2015. This in turn would help with a licensing round for the southeastern Barents Sea, the first new area opened up on […]

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European Energy Commissioner Gunther Oettinger sees Norway as essential part of energy security puzzle. (CC/Jacques Grießmayer) BRUSSELS, Sept. 26 (UPI) — Norwegian Energy Minister Tord Lien said his country has the resources and infrastructure in place to serve as a steady partner in the European energy sector. Lien met in Brussels with European Energy Commissioner Gunther Oettinger during a bilateral energy conference . Lien said less than 30 percent of the natural gas available on the Norwegian continental shelf has been produced, meaning Norway can be a reliable partner for the European community for decades to come. "We have both the infrastructure and the resources to remain a stable supplier of natural gas to Europe for decades to come," he said in an address Thursday. "Our production has grown more or less uninterrupted for 20 years." Norway last year sent 92 percent of its oil exports and at least […]

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Divergent tax policies mean Norway risks missing out on most of a $6 billion wind-power boom while neighboring Sweden benefits. Norway, which aims to triple wind capacity by the end of the decade, has erected one turbine for every seven installed in Sweden since the countries signed a pact to share renewable production two years ago. Norway, western Europe’s biggest oil and gas producer, has so far installed less than 10 percent of what it’s expected to complete by 2020 under the accord. The countries’ mismatched tax rules threaten to deny Norway investment in an industry where jobs will triple by 2030, according to the European Wind Energy Association in Brussels. While Statkraft AS, Norway’s state-owned power company, didn’t build any wind projects in its home country in the eight years through 2013, it spent as much as 7.5 billion kroner ($1.2 billion) on turbines in Sweden. “Changes must […]

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Norway’s Petroleum Safety Authority said the company received consent to move the Transocean rig, Spitsbergen, to a license area in the Barents Sea, where the water depth is approximately 1,400 feet. "In its decision to grant permission under the Pollution Act, the Norwegian Environment Agency has determined that Statoil may not drill in oil-bearing strata before Sept. 18," the regulator said. "This condition has been set to allow for appeals before the riskiest part of the operation gets under way." More than a dozen Greenpeace demonstrators took part in a protest against Statoil’s drilling plans for arctic waters by boarding the Transocean rig in May. Around half of them surrendered their campaign voluntarily and Statoil said the seven activists who remained behind were arrested by Norwegian police . Greenpeace said drilling operations in the region present a threat to regional species and the environment. Statoil in August abandoned an […]

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By Mikael Holter Aug 26, 2014 Norway, western Europe’s biggest oil producer, will probably cut its long-term forecast for crude production as companies reduce spending to counter rising costs and improve shareholder returns. As investments in Norway’s oil industry fall after a peak this year, production beyond 2015 will be lower than expected, according to Bente Nyland, head of the Norwegian Petroleum Directorate. The estimate cuts are expected to be reflected in the NPD’s annual prognosis scheduled to be published in January. “There might be a certain decrease,” she said in an interview in Stavanger today. “It’s capital discipline, it’s costs.” Norway is struggling to sustain oil production that’s more than halved since a peak in 2000 as producers including Statoil ASA (STL) scale back spending plans. The NPD in its latest prognosis in January predicted oil production would rise this year and remain stable through 2018. Still, the […]

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The Norwegian government could pull in $84 billion in taxes from the natural reserves yet to be developed in its territory, analysis from finds. Energy consulting group Wood Mackenzie said Tuesday it believes there are 10 billion barrels of oil equivalent discovered, but yet to be developed, in Norway. About 60 percent of that could be developed commercially, resulting in $84 billion in taxes and $22 billion in profits for the companies involved. Norway has more oil reserves than any other European country and is one of the largest suppliers of natural gas to the region. Wood Mackenzie analyst James Webb said "strict capital discipline" in Norway, however, means some large discoveries might not be developed. "Despite the obvious obstacles for development, the pipeline for future projects in Norway is strong," he said in a statement Tuesday. The National Petroleum Directorate, a government regulator, said preliminary production figures for […]

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Norway has 10 billion barrels of oil equivalent of discovered hydrocarbons that are yet to be developed, according to new analysis released Tuesday at Stavanger’s ONS 2014 conference by Wood Mackenzie. Wood Mackenzie said that, despite being at different stages of evaluation, facing intense investor scrutiny and considerable technical and commercial challenges, more than 60 percent of these resources could be commercialized – potentially adding $106 billion to Norway’s oil and gas industry revenues. The oil and gas industry research firm said that the 10 billion barrels of oil equivalent of undeveloped resources are held with 206 discoveries – ranging in size from under one million boe to the giant 2.4 billion boe at Johan Sverdrup – and spread across the Norwegian Continental Shelf. James Webb, Wood Mackenzie’s upstream analyst for North West Europe, commented: "We consider 4.8 billion boe likely be economic, 1.6 billion boe potentially economic and […]

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Norway’s $885bn oil fund is shaking up its top executives after criticism about its investment in Formula 1 and worries about how it will deal with its growing size. Norges Bank Investment Management, the arm of the central bank that manages the fund, will double the number of top executives to 12, creating new positions for compliance and several in its nascent property portfolio. More On this topic IN Capital Markets Three chief investment officers will be appointed to take over the asset allocation responsibilities currently held by chief executive, Yngve Slyngstad. “We are moving in the direction of trying to exploit the fund’s characteristics more clearly,“ Mr Slyngstad said to explain the move to three CIOs for allocation, asset and equity strategies. The CIOs will deal with both equities and bonds as well as benchmark indices increasingly tailored for the fund and its long-term outlook. The shake-up is […]

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Norwegian oil company Statoil said Tuesday the nation’s prime minister attended a ceremony for the launch of its first new regional oil platform in nine years. Norwegian Prime Minister Erna Solberg opened the Gudrun platform in the North Sea , the first new oil platform operated on the Norwegian continental shelf since 2005. "Gudrun has proven that we are able to take our industry into a new era with global competition and local value creation," Statoil Chief Executive Officer Helge Lund said in a statement. Statoil, alongside its partners at French energy company GDF Suez and Austria’s OMV, said the field should produce as much as 184 million barrels of oil and gas equivalent over its lifespan. Discovered in 1975, the Norwegian company described it as a megaproject, representing more than $1.9 billion in investments. Initial production from Gudrun is estimated at 30,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day. […]

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The National Petroleum Directorate, a government regulator, said preliminary production figures for July show an average daily production of 1.93 million barrels of oil, natural gas liquids and condensate, about 8 percent more than was produced in June. Around 80 percent of that production volume was crude oil. The NPD said oil production was 2 percent higher than what it expected for July, but 3.5 percent lower year-on-year. Technical problems at three fields — Draugen, Skuld and Valhall — were blamed for the decline, though NPD said oil production was still about 1 percent higher for the year than anticipated. Norway has more oil reserves than any other European country. Last year, it exported 1.19 million bpd worth of oil, with most of that headed to the British and Dutch economies. Total gas sales from Norway were about 282 billion cubic feet in July, around 7 percent more than […]

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The National Petroleum Directorate, a government regulator, said preliminary production figures for July show an average daily production of 1.93 million barrels of oil, natural gas liquids and condensate, about 8 percent more than was produced in June. Around 80 percent of that production volume was crude oil. The NPD said oil production was 2 percent higher than what it expected for July, but 3.5 percent lower year-on-year. Technical problems at three fields — Draugen, Skuld and Valhall — were blamed for the decline, though NPD said oil production was still about 1 percent higher for the year than anticipated. Norway has more oil reserves than any other European country. Last year, it exported 1.19 million bpd worth of oil, with most of that headed to the British and Dutch economies. Total gas sales from Norway were about 282 billion cubic feet in July, around 7 percent more than […]

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