Norway’s Oil Production to Be Lower in 2008

Norway’s oil production to be lower in 2008

STOCKHOLM, May 15 (Xinhua) — Oil production in Norway will be slightly lower in 2008, but gas production will maintain continuous growth, according to forecasts by the Norwegian government in its revised budget for 2008 published Thursday.

Total oil production is estimated at 2.4 million barrels per day (bpd) in 2008, down from a previous estimate of 2.5 million bpd and also slightly lower than in 2007, the Ministry of Petroleum and Energy said in a statement, adding that oil production is expected to continue to decrease gradually in the coming years.

Gas sales in 2008 are estimated at 100 billion cubic meters, which is roughly 10 percent higher than in 2007. Gas sales are expected to keep growing in the coming years, the Ministry said.

Due to high oil prices, the country’s net cash flow from the petroleum sector has reached a record level in Norway, the Ministry said.

The country’s net cash flow from the petroleum sector is estimated to hit 356 billion kroner (about 70 billion U.S. dollars) in 2008, 54 billion kroner (about 10.5 billion U.S. dollars) more than the previous estimation, the ministry added.

Norway is the world’s third-largest oil exporter after Saudi Arabia and Russia. In 2007, it produced 237.8 million cubic meters of oil equivalent.

(c) 2008 Xinhua News Agency – CEIS. Provided by ProQuest Information and Learning. All rights Reserved.