Gas production peaked at 124 billion standard cubic metres in 2024, surpassing the total of 122.8 billion in 2022.
Norwegian Offshore Directorate Director General Torgeir Stordal said: “Since the transport of gas from Russia through Ukraine ended at year-end, gas from Norway has become even more important.”
In 2024, the country’s overall production reached approximately 240 million standard cubic metres of oil equivalent, which equates to 1.51 billion barrels of oil equivalent, a level not seen since 2009.
This production is forecasted to maintain its momentum before a gradual decline towards the late 2020s.
To mitigate the projected decline in production, the Norwegian Offshore Directorate stresses the importance of continued exploration near existing infrastructure and in new frontier areas.
Additionally, further investments in fields, discoveries and infrastructure are deemed crucial.
Investment in the NCS is projected to reach Nkr264bn this year, a 2.5% increase from the previous year.
Stordal added: “Electricity exports are a hot topic these days. Energy content of our gas exports are about 100-times larger than net electricity export.”
Exploration activities in 2024 also remained high, with numerous small discoveries being evaluated for potential development to be tied back with existing fields.
The Norwegian Offshore Directorate anticipates around 40 exploration wells this year across the North Sea, the Norwegian Sea and the Barents Sea.
The NCS is also seeing growing interest in the secure storage of CO?, with one exploitation licence and ten exploration licences awarded to date. Two more exploration licences were offered in December, with the awards expected this year.
The Norwegian Offshore Directorate will persist in mapping seabed mineral resources and assessing environmental conditions in pertinent areas.
