Norwegian North Sea proving resilient

Low carbon intensity and sizeable projects such as Johan Castberg coming onstream in late 2024 suggest a robust outlook at least until 2030

Oil opportunities continue to knock for Norway. While Johan Sverdrup may be the star, there is a cast of worthy supporting actors that could even lead to production topping 2m b/d in the next couple of years compared with 1.8m b/d now. With a green approach to its upstream operations, Norway could remain resilient in the face of the energy transition. Alex Hazel, a senior analyst at consultancy Welligence Energy Analytics, noted that Johan Sverdrup has more or less arrested the decline of Norway’s oil production and extended the c.4m boe/d plateau reached in the early 2000s. “Output had been looking shaky until the discovery of Sverdrup,” said Hazel. Sverdrup’s second phase came online at th