Norway Starts Chasing Arctic Oil and Gas
The Norwegian government is urging energy giants to step up oil and gas exploration projects in remote regions like the Barents Sea in the Arctic, ignoring protests from climate companies as the Scandinavian country seeks to solidify its position as Europe’s biggest gas supplier.
Norway overtook Russia last year as Europe’s largest supplier of natural gas and says it is now committed to maintaining Europe’s energy security by exploring the Barents Sea for additional resources.
Norway has been extracting oil and gas from its continental shelf, a relatively shallow area of the seabed off the coast, for more than 50 years.
It is estimated that approximately two-thirds of the country’s untapped oil resources are located off the country’s northern coast in the Arctic Barents Sea. The desire of energy companies to explore the Barents Sea in search of oil and gas has been weak in recent years, due to high costs and limited opportunities to export gas to markets. The Norwegian Petroleum Authority, the government agency responsible for regulating petroleum resources, recently deplored the lack of exploration in the Barents Sea, saying its calculations show that such activities are beneficial in all areas of the ocean. Norway has said it plans to offer energy companies a record number of oil and gas exploration sites in the Arctic.
Oil and gas companies believe that the Barents Sea can play an important role in ensuring long-term access to the gas market, noting that the development of resources in the area should be in line with EU Arctic policy.
An Equinor spokesperson told CNBC that the company is looking forward to seeing new attractive fields in the Barents Sea.
Responding to the environmental concerns associated with oil and gas drilling in the Arctic, an Equinor spokesman said: “We have extensive experience in offshore operations in harsh environments with high standards of safety, reliability and sustainability.”
Climate campaign groups refute that logic, warning that any oil spill in the area would spell disaster for rich but highly vulnerable ecosystems and marine life.
Environmental campaigners from Friends of the Earth Norway, WWF-Norway and Greenpeace Norway described the country’s lobbying for continued oil and gas expansion as extremely reckless. Since the burning of fossil fuels such as coal, oil and gas is the main cause of the climate crisis.
