Norwegian Gas Output Falls Short

Norway's total sales gas production was 10.8bn m³ in December, up 3.3% on November but 3.6% lower than the December forecast owing to technical problems at some fields, the offshore regulator Norwegian Petroleum Directorate said January 22.

Sales were also down 2.2% on December 2017 which had been a record year for gas, and this drop was true of most of the other months in the year. So the forecast record-beating year did not materialise.

Output for 2018 was 121.67bn m³, down from 2017's 124.16bn m³ and also down from the forecast 124.44bn m³. Nearly all the gas is exported by pipeline to the UK and mainland Europe with a small amount from Snohvit being liquefied and delivered worldwide.

Norwegian monthly gas output vs forecast & 2017

(Source: Norwegian Petroleum Directorate)