Norwegian gas supply surpasses forecast in Jan
Norwegian gas supply surpassed the state forecast by 7.5% in January, averaging 342.2mn m3/day, the Norwegian Petroleum Directorate (NPD) reported on February 22.
Output was also up 3.6% year/year, but was down 3.7% from the level in December. High European gas prices in recent months have incentivised Norwegian producers to ramp up supply. Those prices have fallen from record heights seen in late December, thanks to increased LNG imports and warmer weather, but they remain significantly elevated amid fears of a disruption in Russian gas transit via Ukraine. Futures contracts at the Dutch TTF hub have been trading at €70-75 ($79-85)/MWh in recent days.
Norway's Equinor in particular has capitalised well on the energy crunch in Europe, owing to its large exposure to spot markets. The state company generated record profit in the fourth quarter.
The NPD also reported that Norwegian oil and other liquid production averaged 5.3% below the forecast in January at 1.97mn barrels of oil equivalent/day, which also marked a 7.3% decline year/year and a 5.9% drop month/month.