Norway gas exports to stay at record levels for 4-5 years
OSLO, Jan 5 (Reuters) - Norway plans to export around 122 billion cubic metres (bcm) of natural gas in 2023, in line with last year's level, and to maintain this volume for the next four or five years, Minister of Petroleum and Energy Terje Aasland said on Thursday.
The output for 2022, which had not previously been released, was up 8% from 2021, in line with a previous government forecast, and similar to the all-time high of 122.37 bcm set in 2017.
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"Norwegian authorities have updated the estimate for the sales from gas from the Norwegian continental shelf in 2023. The estimate is 122 bcm, the same level as for 2022," Aasland said.
"The expectation is that today's high level can be maintained for the next four to five years."
Norway, Europe's top supplier, primarily pipes its gas to receiving terminals in Britain, Germany, France and Belgium and late in 2022 also opened a new pipeline to Poland via Denmark.
The Nordic country also shipped more liquefied natural gas by tanker from its Arctic Hammerfest plant, which restarted operations in May after having been offline since a fire in 2020.
Equinor and other petroleum firms in Norway have sought to increase their gas production as the war in Ukraine has caused an energy crunch and soaring prices in Europe.
Official forecasts released at the start of the year showed Norway had planned to export 115 bcm in 2022, lagging the record 122.37 bcm it exported in 2017. (Reporting by Nora Buli, writing by Terje Solsvik, editing by Gwladys Fouche and Bernadette Baum)