Norway has decided to reduce its crude oil production by 250,000 bbl/d in June 2020 and by 134,000 bbl/d in the second half of 2020. In addition, the country will postpone to 2021 the production start-up of several fields, which would have produced 166,000 bbl/d in December 2020. Consequently, oil production is expected be 300,000 bbl/d lower than originally planned in December 2020.
Norway had already joined other oil producers to reduce its crude oil production when oil price fell, between 1986 and 1990, in 1998 - 2000 and in the first half of 2002. Norway originally intended to produce 1.859 mb/d in 2020: the average production level will thus be capped to 1.609 mb/d in June 2020 and to 1.725 mb/d in the second half of 2020.
According to forecasts from the Norwegian Petroleum Directorate (NPD), Norway’s crude oil production is expected to rise by 44% between 2019 and 2024, from 1.41 mb/d in 2019 to 2.02 mbd/d in 2024, as major oilfields Sverdrup and Castberg will progressively enter production. Total liquids production should increase by more than 34% between 2019 (1.74 mboe/d) and 2024 (2.33 mb/d). Gas production will not be affected by the cuts.