Norway’s fiscal stability comes under strain
The country faces challenges to the much-vaunted tax regime certainty on which it has built exploration success
Norway's 78pc tax rate on income from hydrocarbon production is steep by international standards. But the country has always stressed the stability of its fiscal regime and its balance and neutrality—where the government shares a significant amount of the risk in return for its big take on the reward and the drill/no-drill decision is not impacted by tax concerns-as attractive to explorers. That stability and neutrality is now coming under increased strain. In part, the pressure is from a more aggressive Norwegian environmental lobby, which is targeting specific elements of the tax code to further its agenda of reducing activity on the Norwegian continental shelf (NCS). But elements within t
Also in this section
5 May 2025
The country is seeing a notable increase in petroleum product retail outlets, with private operators gaining market share
2 May 2025
Fast-tracking US project approvals and increased trade pressures have already changed the LNG landscape since Trump came to office, with further transformation ahead
2 May 2025
Peru’s state-owned hydrocarbons agency has launched the search for new investors for Offshore Block Z-69, a high-potential asset in the prolific Talara Basin.
2 May 2025
The scars of the Russia crisis have accelerated Europe’s push to wean itself off gas dependence as the growing globalisation of LNG becomes a double-edged sword
