Europe / Caspian / CIS

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

17 Oct 26	Norway: Delivering subsea infrastructure for flagship CCS project in Norway Worley Rosenberg has been awarded the fabrication scope from Subsea7 for key subsea structures and spools supporting Phase II of the Northern Lights carbon transport and storage development – Norway’s flagship carbon capture and storage (CCS) project.
15 Oct 26	Norway: Renewed interest in exploring under the basalt Undiscovered oil and gas resources may be present under the volcanic rock basalt in the western part of the Norwegian Sea. However, no exploration wells have been drilled in these areas. Could it be possible to explore for, and find, petroleum under the basalt on the Norwegian continental shelf (NCS)?
15 Oct 26	Norway: Partial electrification of Troll B and Troll C has reduced emissions by around 330,000 tonnes of CO2 per year The partial electrification of Troll B and Troll C has reduced emissions by around 330,000 tonnes of CO2 per year. The Troll field continues to deliver high and stable production of oil and gas to Europe with low emissions.
14 Oct 26	Norway: Equinor makes oil and gas discovery in the North Sea (30/8-7 S) Equinor and its partners have discovered oil and gas in the 'Grimsnes' prospect in the Oseberg area, about 140 km west of Bergen. The licensees (Equinor (operator), Petoro and TotalEnergies), are looking into potential options for tying the discovery back to existing infrastructure in the Oseberg area.
14 Oct 26	Norway: Kistos announces acquisition of Ringhorne Production Licences Kistos, an independent energy company focused on unlocking value within its existing portfolio and through value-accretive M&A, has signed a Sales and Purchase Agreement with Vår Energi to acquire a 10% working interest in the production licenses PL 169E, PL 956 and PL 956B on the Norwegian Continental Shelf. The upfront consideration for the transaction is $12.9 million.