Aasland emphasized at a conference, "If we are to uphold a stable production in the years to come, we must explore more and invest more."
In recent years, Norway has ramped up offshore oil and gas exploration to address Europe's rising energy demands following the continent's move away from Russian supplies. Last year, DNO ASA, a Norwegian oil and gas operator, made a notable gas and condensate discovery at the Carmen prospect in the Norwegian North Sea.
Initial assessments of extensive data suggest recoverable resources could range from 120 to 230 million barrels of oil, marking Carmen as the largest discovery on the Norwegian Continental Shelf since 2013.
Additionally, Aker BP (NYSE:BP) (OTCQX:AKRBF) recently reported a significantly larger oil discovery than anticipated in the Yggdrasil area of the North Sea. Preliminary estimates indicate a gross recoverable volume of 40 to 90 million barrels of oil equivalent (boe), surpassing the company's previous forecast of 18 to 45 million boe.
Norway and the United States have overtaken Russia as the leading gas suppliers to Europe. In 2023, Norway delivered 87.8 billion cubic meters (bcm) of gas, representing 30.3% of the continent's total imports, while the U.S. contributed 56.2 bcm, which accounted for 19.4% of the total.
In 2024, gas exports from Norway to Europe averaged 313 million cubic meters per day. Nevertheless, the U.S. remains the largest supplier of liquefied natural gas (LNG) to Europe, providing nearly half of the continent's total LNG imports last year, more than any other nation.
On a global scale, the United States achieved a record shipment of 56.9 million metric tons of LNG in the first eight months of 2024, outpacing Australia’s 54.3 million tons and Qatar’s 53.7 million tons during the same timeframe. This marks the second consecutive year that U.S. exporters have led the global export rankings.