Norway faces 20% drop in oil investments

Norway

OSLO, November 24, 2015 – Oil and gas investments in Norway are slated to drop by 20 percent from 2014 levels next year, an official survey has predicted.

Statistics Norway, a government bureau, expects spending by oil and gas companies in the Scandinavian country to fall to around $20 billion in 2016, marking a decrease of one-fifth on 2014 levels.

The bureau’s estimate for 2016, published in a quarterly survey, was 5.6 percent lower than its previous forecast, Bloomberg reported.

The drop can be attributed to a decrease in planned exploration spending. Norwegian operators’ estimates of exploration spending for 2016 were 35-percent lower than the levels they anticipated in the last survey.

Norway is the top hydrocarbons producer in Western Europe, but recent months have seen depressed oil prices take a toll on oil and gas developments.

The country’s economy is expected to suffer with the decreased spending.

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