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

21 May 25	Norway: Merlin Energy offers support for the recently announced APA 2025 Round in Norway Merlin has been supporting its Norwegian clients for more than a decade with preparations for submissions, whether that be technical work that supports a go/no go decision or work that feeds directly into an application document. We are currently carrying out technical work in both the Norwegian North Sea and Norwegian Sea.
21 May 25	Edda Wind: Q1 2025 - A good start to the new year with solid operational utilisation Edda Wind has published its quarterly results for Q1 2025. The Group delivered consolidated revenue of EUR 19.5m (EUR 2.5m above Q1 2024) and consolidated EBITDA of EUR 6.9m (EUR 6.4m above Q1 2024 excl. gain on sale of assets in Q1 2024).
20 May 25	Norway: Cloudberry announces strategic asset sale of Svåheia Wind Farm Cloudberry has sold its 80% ownership in the Svåheia wind farm to Dalane Kraft. Svåheia wind farm, located in the NO-2 region in Norway, comprises seven producing Vestas turbines with an estimated annual production of 70 GWh, having been in commercial operation since 2018 and is under the Norwegian resource rent tax regime.
20 May 25	Norway: Aker BP makes oil discovery in the Norwegian Sea near the Skarv field Aker BP and its partners have made an oil discovery in the so-called E prospect near the Skarv field. Preliminary calculations of the size of the discovery made in the Garn Formation are between 0.48 and 1.11 million standard cubic metres (Sm3) of recoverable oil equivalent (o.e). The licensees will consider the discovery in the Garn Formation for a potential tie-back to the Skarv FPSO.
20 May 25	Norway's Ministry of Energy announces a competition for three project areas for floating offshore wind at Utsira Nord Norway's Ministry of Energy has announced a competition for three project areas for floating offshore wind at Utsira Nord. The project aims to facilitate increased renewable power production, technological development, and new growth opportunities for the supplier industry. The application deadline is September 15.