Norway Restarts North Sea Drilling

By Paul Homewood

While Crazy Ed wants to shut down North Sea oil and gas, Norway have got more sense.

From the Telegraph:

The Scandinavian nation aims to be ‘a long-term supplier of oil and gas to Europe’

Britain must follow Norway’s lead and lift an embargo on drilling licences, opposition parties have urged, after the oil-rich nation reopened exploration licences in the North Sea.

The Conservatives and Reform UK said Ed Miliband, the Energy Secretary, should rethink a ban on new oil and gas licences as Norway opens the basin to exploration for the first time since 2021.

Norway became Britain’s primary source of gas last year as UK output shrank in the wake of the windfall tax and a ban on new licences.

The latest move is likely to see Norway sell even more supplies to the UK after its energy minister, Terje Aasland, said new licences would allow it to be “a long-term supplier of oil and gas to Europe”.

Announcing the licencing round – which will cover the northernmost Barents Sea, the Norwegian Sea and the North Sea – Mr Aasland said: “The Norwegian continental shelf will continue to create value and jobs for our country.

“The oil and gas industry is knowledge, expertise and technology intensive. Increased activity in this industry also has positive effects on other industries and parts of our society.

“It means oil and gas are the engine of the Norwegian economy, and I am convinced that the Norwegian continental shelf has a bright future. There are many exciting development projects underway and there is great interest in the licencing rounds. This contributes to new investment opportunities and profitable jobs.”

Full story here.