Oil Reserves in Norway Norway has proven reserves equivalent to 69.0 times its annual consumption. This means that, without Net Exports, there would be about 69 years of oil left (at current consumption levels and excluding unproven reserves).
The Norwegian Oil and Gas Association has calculated that shutting down Norway's petroleum industry from 2020 would mean the loss of NOK 140 billion in annual government revenues. It also estimates that around 300 000 people employed in the country directly and indirectly by the industry would lose their jobs.
As Russia throttled back natural gas exports last year, Norway dialed them up, and it is now Europe's main supplier of the fuel. Norway is also feeding greater quantities of oil to its neighbors, replacing embargoed Russian oil.
The country is entirely self-sufficient in oil and gas, out of the North Sea, and is a substantial exporter, in particular to the UK and the Netherlands who, respectively, source 42% and 17% of their requirements from Norway.
Oil and gas remain king of Norway's economy. Despite being the world's third wealthiest nation by GDP per capita – and despite the IEA warning in 2021 there is no need for new oil and gas fields if the world is to be on track to net zero by 2050 – Norway is still Europe's most aggressive oil and gas explorer.
Oil Reserves in Norway
Norway has proven reserves equivalent to 69.0 times its annual consumption. This means that, without Net Exports, there would be about 69 years of oil left (at current consumption levels and excluding unproven reserves).
Norway has replaced Russia as the biggest gas supplier of Europe, said the EU Commissioner Kadri Simson, as she was addressing a committee meeting and a press conference in the European Parliament. “Since September 2022, Russian gas is about 8 percent of all pipeline gas imported in the EU.
Today, Norway is the world's third-largest oil exporter, behind only Saudi Arabia and Russia, and the seventh-largest oil producer.
The UK and Norway both began offshore exploration and production in the mid-1960s with the first oil discoveries made in 1969. Since then, both countries have produced similar amounts of hydrocarbons: the UK has produced 42.8 billion barrels of oil equivalent (boe) and Norway 40 billion boe.
The oil and gas industries play a dominant role in the Norwegian economy, providing a source of finance for the Norwegian welfare state through direct ownership of oil fields, dividends from its shares in Equinor, and licensure fees and taxes.
Germany imported around 62 billion euros of Norwegian natural gas, oil and condensates in 2022 and has become the country's number one goods importer, said the German-Norwegian chamber of commerce.
Norway 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. Deliveries to Germany rose by 11% year-on-year to 54.8 bcm, while France saw an increase of 4.7%, Gassco said.
Norway is an important supplier of oil and gas to the global market, and almost all oil and gas produced on the Norwegian shelf is exported. About 95 per cent of Norwegian gas production is exported via pipelines directly to the EU and UK.
Hækkerup is most widely known for the agreement he reached with the Norwegian Minister Jens Evensen that gave Norway the oil-rich Ekofisk oil field in the North Sea.
Most of the hundreds of thousands of years of existence of human beings transpired without crude oil, and doubtless, we'd survive in the future without it. Our lives would likely become different from today's, but whether this will be better or worse is unclear. So how and with what could we replace crude oil?
World Oil Reserves
The world has proven reserves equivalent to 46.6 times its annual consumption levels. This means it has about 47 years of oil left (at current consumption levels and excluding unproven reserves).
Venezuela has the largest amount of oil reserves in the world with more than 300 billion barrels in reserve. Saudi Arabia has the second-largest amount of oil reserves in the world with 297.5 billion barrels.
#1 Venezuela
One of the most troubled countries in the world, Venezuela is also the country with the world's largest oil reserves, pegged at over 300 billion barrels.
Oil reserves - Country rankings
The average for 2021 based on 43 countries was 2.19 billion barrels. The highest value was in Russia: 80 billion barrels and the lowest value was in Belgium: 0 billion barrels. The indicator is available from 1980 to 2021. Below is a chart for all countries where data are available.
Exports In 2021, Sweden exported $220M in Crude Petroleum, making it the 64th largest exporter of Crude Petroleum in the world. At the same year, Crude Petroleum was the 160th most exported product in Sweden.
“It will be challenging to increase gas production from Norway in any significant way in the next few years, as Norway does not have the infrastructure or the gas assets to support it,” said Helge André Martinsen, an oil and gas market analyst at Oslo-based DNB bank.
Ukraine imports most of its petroleum products from Belarus, Russia, and Germany. Crude oil imports, sourced increasingly from Azerbaijan and Kazakhstan, supply Ukraine's sole operating refinery, the Kremenchug facility.
You may be surprised to learn that the UK currently sources around 50% of its natural gas from its own territory, with the North Sea accounting for an estimated 50%. The remaining 50% of UK gas supplies are imported from various different countries around the world, including Norway, the United States and Russia.