The level of activity in Norway’s petroleum industry has been rising sharply in recent years, buoyed by high energy prices, a positive trend for discoveries and upgrading requirements on older fields. While the peak will be passed this year, investment and activity on the Norwegian continental shelf (NCS) will remain at a historically high level and continue to require substantial capacity at both oil companies and suppliers.

These conclusions are drawn in the business trend report for 2014 from the Norwegian Oil and Gas Association. This notes that the world economy is still fragile six years after the global financial crisis began, energy demand has moderated and oil prices are at their lowest level for four years.
At the same time, costs on the NCS have risen substantially since 2004, a development very much shared with other petroleum provinces. This trend had contributed to a reduction in the robustness of a number of potential field developments. The 2014 report has accordingly been entitled Time for consolidation.

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Photo: Norwegian Petroleum Museum in Stavanger