Norway approves over $18 billion of oil, natural gas projects

(Bloomberg) – Norway’s energy ministry approved oil and gas projects with a total value of more than 200 billion kroner ($18.5 billion) as Europe’s biggest supplier of natural gas works to keep up production.

The projects, which include Aker BP ASA’s Yggdrasil and Valhall PWP og Fenris in the North Sea, as well as Equinor ASA’s Irpa in the Norwegian Sea, cover 19 new developments, build-outs of existing fields and increased oil-recovery projects, the ministry said in a statement on Wednesday.

The Nordic nation has become the biggest supplier of natural gas to Europe in the aftermath of Moscow’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, and will likely continue to see strong demand as buyers turn their back on Russian energy. A flurry of development plans were submitted at the end of last year in order to benefit from pandemic-era tax breaks introduced to maintain investments as demand sank.

“Norway is the only net exporter of oil and gas in Europe, and by implementing these projects we ensure new production from the latter half of the 2020s, so that we can maintain high Norwegian deliveries,” Petroleum & Energy Minister Terje Aasland said in a statement.

As many as 55 wells are planned at Yggdrasil. That area is estimated to contain about 650 MMboe, making it one of the biggest development projects on the Norwegian continental shelf in recent years.