Europe / Caspian / CIS

Norway flag
Summary | Profile

Country profile: Norway

Location: Northern Europe, bordering the North Sea and the North Atlantic Ocean, west of Sweden
Climate: temperate along coast, modified by North Atlantic Current; colder interior with increased precipitation and colder summers; rainy year-round on west coast
Terrain: glaciated; mostly high plateaus and rugged mountains broken by fertile valleys; small, scattered plains; coastline deeply indented by fjords; arctic tundra in north
Size: 323802 sq. km total (Land area: 307442 sq. km  Water area: 16360 sq.km)
Population: 4,644,457 (July 2008 est.)
Languages: Bokmal Norwegian (official), Nynorsk Norwegian (official), small Sami- and Finnish-speaking minorities; note - Sami is official in six municipalities
Government: constitutional monarchy
Capital city: Oslo
Legal system: mixture of customary law, civil law system, and common law traditions; Supreme Court renders advisory opinions to legislature when asked; accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction with reservations
Currency: Norwegian krone (NOK)
Licensing:

Country profile

Norway is an advanced, highly-developed economy that has greatly benefited from the utilization of its hydrocarbon resources. In 2005, the country had a gross domestic product (GDP) of $295 billion, and a per-capita GDP of $64,000, which is one of the highest in the world. The Norwegian economy grew by 2.5 percent in 2005, and is forecasted to grow by 2.2 percent in 2006. Norway’s economy is highly dependent on its offshore oil and natural gas sector, which provides the government with its largest single source of revenue and the largest contribution to GDP. In recent years, high oil prices have made for government budget and current account surpluses, and rising disposable income.

Norway's dependence upon oil and gas revenues present long-term challenges for the country, especially because many industry analysts believe that North Sea oil and gas production has already reached or passed its peak. In particular, the country faces pension liabilities and other welfare obligations. In response to these challenges, the Norwegian government created the Petroleum Fund in 1990, later renamed the Government Pension Fund in 2005. A portion of annual oil and gas revenues flow into the Fund each year, which serves the dual purpose of buffering the short-term variations in oil revenues and providing a mechanism to transfer current wealth to future generations. The Fund, which holds a combination of cash, bonds, and shares, holds only international assets and stood at some $240 billion in March 2006.

The latest nationwide election in October 2005 had important repercussions for Norway’s future energy policy, because the largest coalition members (Labour and Socialists) disagree on whether or not to pursue exploration activities in the Barents Sea. In March 2006, the government presented its management plan for the Barents Sea. The plan allows new exploration in some areas of the Barents Sea, but it also places a moratorium on other, ecologically-sensitive parts of the region until 2010. In addition, the plan allows existing exploration activities in the Barents Sea to continue. With declining production from existing areas, Norway must explore these frontier regions in order to maintain oil and natural gas production in the long-term.

Energy production and consumption


Oil Gas
Production: 2 million bbl/day (2005 est.) 83 billion cu m (2005 est.)
Consumption: 228,400 bbl/day (2005 est.) 5 billion cu m (2005 est.)
Exports: 3 million bbl/day (2005 est.) 78 billion cu m (2005 est.)
Imports: 91,930 bbl/day (2005 est.)  
Reserves: 7 billion bbl (1 January 2006 est.) 2 trillion cu m (1 January 2006 est.)
Major fields:



Norway - recent news

10 Feb 25
Norway: CO2 storage on the Norwegian Shelf could become a new industry
Last year, more licences were granted for storing CO2 on the Norwegian continental shelf than ever before. Four exploration licences were granted in 2024, and offers were extended for two exploration licences, making last year the most prolific to date when it.
07 Feb 25
Norway: Aker BP drills dry well in the Njargasas prospect in the North Sea.
Aker BP and its partners have drilled a dry well in the 'Njargasas' prospect in the North Sea. Wildcat well 35/6-5 S is located in production licence 1110, which was part of the awards in predefined areas (APA) 2020, announced in February 2021 and was the first well in the licence.
06 Feb 25
Norway: Aker BP takes over as operator for the Oda field
On February 1st, Aker BP took over the operatorship of the Oda field from Sval Energi. Oda is located 14 kms east of Ula. Production from Oda started in 2019.
04 Feb 25
Norway: SLB OneSubsea signs agreement with Vår Energi for upcoming subsea developments in Norway
SLB has announced an agreement between its OneSubsea joint venture and Vår Energi to deliver a sizeable subsea production systems (SPS) work scope. This award leverages the existing strategic subsea partnership agreement between the two companies for standardized subsea equipment, supporting multiple upcoming oil and gas developments on the Norwegian Continental Shelf (NCS).
04 Feb 25
Norway: Vår Energi pre-commits subsea systems to speed up developments
Vår Energi has signed a Letter of Intent with OneSubsea for the delivery of Subsea Production Systems (SPS) to reduce project development time. The pre-commitment will give Vår Energi the ability to shorten subsea tie-back development time by up to one year.

Norway - more news

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