Norwegian Jan Gas Output Beats Dec Forecast

Norway produced more gas in January than it forecast in December and more than it did in January 2016, data from offshore regulator Norwegian Petroleum Directorate show February 21. It produced 374.65mn m³/day on average, while the forecast was for 351.57mn m³/d. In January 2016 it produced 36.045mn m³.

The NPD also published its basic estimate of the country's reserves, as of December 2016. Of the total 14.3bn m³ of oil equivalent, 48% have been produced and 39% of the total remaining are unproven. With regard to gas, 2.217 trillion m³ have been produced and another 1.762 trillion m³ are the remaining reserves with a further 1.465 trillion m³ are still to be discovered. Reserves, excluding contingent resources in fields and in discoveries, are 60% gas.

The North Sea contains about 51% of the remaining resources. The distribution of the remaining resources is about equal between the Norwegian Sea and Barents Sea. A large portion of the expected resources that remain in the Barents Sea have not yet been proven, the NPD said.

(Source: NPD)

The North Sea has 62 producing fields at year-end, while the Norwegian Sea has 16 fields in production. The Barents Sea has two fields after Goliat started producing in 2016. The North Sea also has the largest volume of remaining resources, with about 51%.

William Powell