Facing beleaguered Europe, Norway keen to protect energy windfall

Norway, a major producer and supplier of energy, is well placed to help alleviate Europe’s energy crisis -- and reap the profits, a situation not all of its European partners welcome.

The Nordic country was already a leading exporter of electricity thanks to its many hydroelectric dams.

But since the cut in natural gas supplies from Russia following the invasion of Ukraine, it has now emerged as Europe’s main supplier in that field.

Offshore, Norwegian platforms and facilities are running at full capacity to make up at least some of the shortfall.

“The most important contribution Norway can make in the current situation is to maintain high gas production,” oil and energy minister Terje Aasland told parliament last month.

The country is set to increase its gas exports by eight percent this year, bringing production to a record 122 billion cubic metres, according to Aasland. But the sharp rise in gas prices also means greater profits.

The state’s oil and gas revenues are expected to smash last year’s record 830 billion Norwegian kroner ($83 billion), potentially reaching 1.5 trillion in 2022 and 1.9 trillion next year, according to projections by Nordea Markets.

Gigantic profit

With such a spectacular windfall, there are those who worry that the country risks being viewed as a “war profiteer”.

Already in May, Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki said Norway should share “this excess, gigantic profit”. The country was “indirectly preying”, albeit unintentionally, from “the war started by Putin”, Morawiecki argued.

So far, Oslo has turned a deaf ear to calls for a cap on gas prices, instead emphasising its role as a stable and predictable supplier.