Felicity Bradstock
Felicity Bradstock is a freelance writer specialising in Energy and Finance. She has a Master’s in International Development from the University of Birmingham, UK.
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By Felicity Bradstock – Jan 04, 2025, 4:00 PM CST
- Norway’s oil and gas investment is expected to reach a record high in 2025, driven by new exploration activity and increased demand for Norwegian gas.
- While Norway is a leader in renewable energy, it continues to invest heavily in oil and gas production, raising concerns about its climate commitments.
- Norway aims to balance its oil and gas production with decarbonization efforts through electrification and investments in renewable energy projects both domestically and internationally.
After hitting record highs this year, Norway’s oil and gas investment is expected to grow even higher in 2025. Greater development activity on new projects and the cost of inflation have contributed heavily to the increase in Norway’s oil and gas investment in 2024. Norway’s oil and gas investment is expected to total around $22.9 billion this year, marking an all-time high, according to the country’s statistics office. The previous record was $20.4 billion in 2014 when oil prices were very high and companies were still spending heavily on new oil and gas projects. The increase in investment supported new exploration activity, pipeline transportation, and shutdown and removal.
The Scandinavian oil superpower is expected to continue investing heavily in fossil fuels in the coming years. Oil and gas companies operating in Norway expect to invest an estimated $24.68 billion in 2025, the industry association Offshore Norge announced in December. The group surveyed 14 companies, including Equinor, Aker, Vår Energi, ConocoPhillips, and Shell, representing almost the entirety of the country’s oil and gas output. Companies plan to commence drilling on 45 exploration wells in Norwegian waters in 2025, an increase from 41 this year and the highest level since 2019.
The increase in new exploration projects reflects the growth in demand for natural gas from Norway, following the Russian invasion of Ukraine and subsequent sanctions on Russian oil. Norway is Western Europe’s largest oil and gas producer, with an output of more than 4 million bpd, and the government aims to continue increasing production for several decades.
In December, Vår Energi and Equinor announced they had made a new oil discovery at their Cerisa exploration well near an operational asset in the Barents Sea. The operators estimate the discovery holds between 1.3 and 4.8 million standard cubic meters of recoverable oil equivalent. This marked the fourth find in a row in the region. Alongside previous discoveries in Gjøa North and Ofelia/Kyrre, Cerisa could be tied into the Gjøa field using existing infrastructure in the area. This would provide combined estimated gross recoverable resources of up to 110 MMboe.
In addition to new exploration activities in Norway’s waters,