Norway to continue surveying unopened areas

Far from looking towards the sunset of oil and gas production, the Scandinavian nation is keen to build up a better picture of reserves even where E&P is not yet allowed

Perhaps the most striking aspect of Norway’s new white paper on long-term value creation from the country’s energy resources involves its approach to potential reserves that lie in waters currently off-limits to hydrocarbons activity. Some highly prospective acreage, such as the waters around the Arctic Circle Lofoten Islands, is unavailable even for exploratory drilling due to environmental concerns and a preference that full exploitation of licensed areas in less pristine and fragile ecosystems is prioritised. But, while the country’s Ministry for Petroleum and Energy (MPE) emphasises the need to prepare for the energy transition, it shows no appetite for taking drilling in these prohibite