Norway 2007 Oil Output to Drop 5.6 Percent

(Bloomberg) — Norway’s oil output will drop by about 5.6 percent this year as companies such as Statoil ASA and Norsk Hydro ASA struggle to make up for dwindling North Sea output, the nation’s petroleum directorate said.

The nation will pump an estimated 129 million standard cubic meters of oil equivalent, or 2.2 million barrels a day, this year, the directorate said today on its Web site. That’s down from 136.7 million standard cubic meters in 2006 and 148.1 million standard cubic meters the year before. It is also 2.9 percent lower than a previous estimate from 2005.

Statoil and Hydro, Norway’s largest energy companies, are trying to find enough oil to replace diminishing production from aging North Sea fields. A shortage of offshore drilling rigs has delayed production and exploration of some offshore sites. Norway’s 2006 oil output was the lowest in 13 years.

“Twenty-six exploration wells were spudded in 2006, which is twice as many as in the previous year; however, only four discoveries were made,” the directorate said. “The shelf is otherwise characterized by a shortage of rigs and increasing prices.”

Bloomberg