Oil and gas investment in Norway is expected to grow for a second year in a row in 2019 but will then fall back between 2020 and 2023, an industry lobby group said on Monday.
Western Europe’s largest oil producer is experiencing a recovery in oil industry activity thanks to higher crude prices, after a slump in 2014-2016.
Investment in Norway’s oil industry is estimated to rise by 16 percent year-on-year to 184.5 billion crowns ($21.5 billion), the Norwegian Oil and Gas Association (NOG) said. It previously expected 2019 investment of 153 billion crowns. $1 = 8.3304 Norwegian crowns
“It is good news that activity is so high on the Norwegian continental shelf. We believe this is because of the significant restructuring the industry has done in recent years, which has increased competitiveness,” the lobby said in a statement.
But it said investment would start to fall after 2019 to 182.5 billion crowns in 2020, 168 billion crowns in 2021, 156.5 billions crowns in 2022 and 141.5 billion crowns in 2023.
Norway is opening up new exploration areas, particularly in the Arctic. But there are no giant projects to replace those, such as the Johan Sverdrup field, being developed now.
A November survey by Statistics Norway (SSB) showed oil and gas companies planning to invest 175.3 billion crowns in 2019, up from 165.1 billion seen in a survey in August.
The Norwegian Petroleum Directorate, the state agency that manages Norway’s oil and gas resources, will present its own five-year forecasts for investment on Thursday.
Source: Reuters
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