Norway experienced record levels of investment in its oil and gas (O&G) sector in 2024, and could see even more in 2025 as inflationary pressures push up development and exploration costs, reported Statistics Norway, the national data office.
Total O&G investments including pipelines are now at $22.9bn (Nkr256bn) for this year, an all-time high, having surpassed the previous record of $20.4bn set in 2014 when oil prices spiked.
Statistics Norway garnered the figures, which were published late on Thursday, from a fourth-quarter survey of energy companies’ investment plans.
According to research by GlobalData, Offshore Technology’s parent company, crude oil production in Norway, mainly from shallow-water fields, was estimated at 1.69 million barrels per day in 2022, with output expected to peak in the next few years and reach a plateau in 2028.
Norway’s statistics body said it expects the nation’s oil liquids production to rise by 5.2% in 2025 from 2024’s level, with natural gas output dropping slightly (1.6%).
In September, the Norwegian Offshore Directorate (NOD) announced that 21 companies have submitted applications for production licences as part of the Award in Pre-defined Areas 2024 (APA 2024) licensing round.
The APA, an annual event, targets well-known exploration areas on the Norwegian Continental Shelf that are not currently licensed, with the majority of available exploration areas included.
Announced in May 2024, APA 2024 saw the expansion of acreage by a total of 37 blocks in the Barents Sea and the Norwegian Sea.
The NOD had previously called for higher levels of O&G exploration to prevent output decline. Many of Norway’s major offshore fields are maturing, with no new developments planned for the 2030s.
