As a western, industrialised nation and a major oil exporter, Norway has a number of different interests. It has about 50 per cent of Western Europe’s oil and gas reserves, which means that it has many interests in common with other oil exporters, both within and outside OPEC. At the same time, and together with its most important political and economic cooperation partners – other OECD countries – Norway participates in the energy policy cooperation of the International Energy Agency (IEA).
Norwegian policy is to maintain a stable oil price at a level that:
- is conducive to Norwegian value creation and international economic growth
- makes it possible for Norway to support the energy supply security of its trading partners on a stable, long-term basis, through its exports of oil and gas
- does not trigger the political conflict that could arise between oil-exporting and oil-importing countries due to the importance of oil as a strategic raw material
- promotes sustainable economic development at global level, through effective, environmentally-friendly use of energy.
Norway has been one of the main promoters of dialogue between oil consumers and producers, which has now been institutionalised in the International Energy Forum. A secretariat for the Forum was established in Saudi Arabia in 2003.
In 2004, Norway exported an average of 2.9 million barrels of oil a day, making it the third-largest exporter of crude oil in the world, behind Saudi Arabia and Russia. The most important individual markets (first recipient countries) for Norwegian crude oil were the UK, the Netherlands, France, Germany, and the US. Total crude oil production (including condensate and natural gas liquids (NGL)) averaged approximately 3 million barrels a day. The Norwegian Government aims to maintain oil production for at least another 50 years.
Norway was also the world’s third-largest gas exporter in 2004, behind Russia and Canada, and the second-largest gas exporter to Europe behind Russia. Gas from the Norwegian continental shelf accounts for about 15 per cent of total European gas consumption, and this percentage is expected to increase. The largest recipients of Norwegian gas in 2004 were Germany (35.2 per cent), France (23 per cent), the UK (16 per cent), and the Netherlands (9.3 per cent). Given the level of proven resources, including those that are recoverable through enhanced extraction techniques, the present level of gas production can be maintained for about 100 years. In other words, gas will play an increasingly important role in Norwegian petroleum activities.
In 2005, the export value of crude oil and natural gas sales was about NOK 433 billion, approximately 52 per cent of total Norwegian exports, and the petroleum industry’s share of GDP was about 25 per cent.
In order to prevent petroleum revenues from having a negative impact on Norway’s economy, and to protect the country against future budget deficits caused by the demographic trend of an ageing population, the Storting (the Norwegian parliament) established the Norwegian Government Petroleum Fund in 1990. The Fund’s income consists of the central government’s net cash flow from petroleum activities and the return on the Fund’s capital. At the end of 2005, the value of the Fund was about NOK 1 399 billion. The Fund’s value rose by about NOK 382.5 billion in 2005.Links
Fact Sheet 2005 Norwegian Petroleum Activity
Resource accounts and analysis
The Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs