Norway
's
total oil and gas production fell by 5% in 2011, to 218.7 million cubic meters
of oil equivalent, the Norwegian Petroleum Directorate said Monday.
The fall was largely driven by lower gas production, the directorate said.
Norway
exports most of its petroleum production. Total Norwegian production of oil and
gas has been falling since 2004, mainly because of lower output of crude oil. The
role of the Norwegian Petroleum Directorate is to get as much petroleum out of
the shelf as possible.
The directorate is "worried that the number of new production wells
falls," said Director Bente Nyland at a
Stavanger
press
conference on Monday. This is the best method of increasing production in
existing fields, and oil companies are "expecting a larger
production" than what one should expect from the number of wells they plan
to drill, she said.
The directorate expects production to rise in 2012, to 222 million cubic meters
of oil equivalent, holding steady at this level until 2016.
Norwegian 2011 crude oil production fell to 97.3 million cubic meters, or 1.7
million barrels a day, from 104.4 million standard meters in 2010.
Natural gas sales fell to 101.3 billion cubic meters, 5 billion cubic meters
less than in 2010. The directorate said this was "largely market
driven."
"We think this is a temporary dip," said Nyland, adding she expects a
rise in Norwegian natural gas sales in the next five years.
Norwegian 2011 crude oil production fell to 97.3 million standard cubic meters
from 104.4 million standard cubic meters in 2010, while natural gas sales fell
to 101.3 billion standard cubic meters, 5 billion standard cubic meters less
than in 2010, the directorate said.
Investments in the oil sector, including exploration, are expected to rise to
NOK170 billion in 2012 from just under NOK150 billion in 2011, the directorate
said. But "a sharp and prolonged decline in the price of oil could have a
major impact on investments," it added in a statement.
Recent, big Norwegian discoveries such as Skrugard and Aldous/Avaldsnes will
"not increase Norwegian petroleum production," said Deputy Energy
Minister Per Rune Henriksen at the press conference, adding that "our goal
is stable, high production and to dampen the production fall we know will
come."
For the five-year period up to 2016, production is expected to be 1,120 million
cubic meters of oil equivalent, the directorate said. For the five years
2007-2011, production was 1,170 million cubic meters of oil equivalent, it
said.
In the next five years,
Norway
will
produce 458 million standard cubic meters of crude oil, 110 million standard
cubic meters less than in the previous five year-period, according to the
directorate.
One cubic
meter is 6.29 barrels of oil equivalent.