Norwegian oil output to fall more than expected

OSLO

Production was about 2.2 million barrels per day at the end of 2008, after falling from a peak average of 3.1 million barrels per day in 2000.

The government has been urging oil companies to step up efforts to find more oil near existing North Sea fields, develop technology to get more crude out of current reservoirs, and move exploration into Arctic waters in a bid to offset the oil production decline.