Norway Going Green? Never Mind; Energy Blog Of The Day -- July 2, 2021

Norway flips-flops: first it pivoted to green energy, now it backpedals to fossil fuel. LOL. Link to Felicity Bradstock. This is a huge and important study. Again, we're starting to see the widening gap between those who see reality and those who got caught up in the "moment." 

From the linked article:

Despite announcements last year that it is striving for net-zero carbon emissions by 2050, Norway has now said it will go full steam ahead in its oil ventures over the coming decades. While neighboring Denmark plans to end all North Sea operations by 2050, Norway, Western Europe’s largest oil producer, continues to offer exploration and production contracts to several companies, as it intends to develop its already well-established oil industry further. 

In a white paper, Minister of Petroleum and Energy, Tina Bru, stated that “The main goal of the government’s petroleum policy - to facilitate profitable production in the oil and gas industry in a long term perspective - is firmly in place.” 

This week, Norway’s oil majors announced they would be developing four oil and gas discoveries, at a cost of $1.69 billion, to increase output in the country’s existing oil fields. 

Equinor and Aker BP hope to tap into Norway’s remaining oil resources while demand is high, as after 50 years of oil production around half of the country’s oil reserves are yet to be pumped.  

The Kristin South project, which includes the Lavrans and Kristin Q discoveries, is awaiting ministry approval and is projected to have an output of 58.2 million barrels of oil equivalent over the field's lifetime. 

Equinor will operate the Kristin field, commencing production in 2024 and 2025. Petoro, Eni (-0.89%), and TotalEnergies (-0.39%) all have a stake in the field.  

Earlier this month, Norway awarded four new licenses in the Norwegian Sea and three in the Barents Sea, in frontier Arctic areas, to seven companies. One of the Ministry of Petroleum and Energy’s key concerns is maintaining steady employment in the country, with around 200,000 jobs currently directly and indirectly linked to oil and gas.

Putting the Bakken in perspective: note that the Lavrans and Kristin Q discoveries are projected to have an output of around 60 million boe over the field's lifetime. The Bakken: that much oil in less than sixty days. 

So, back to the main story line. After announcing the country was going "green," someone must have run the numbers and noted that "green" won't work. So, back to fossil fuel. Gotta love it. And now that President Biden has ceded the Arctic to Russia, Denmark, and Norway, the latter needs to get crackin'.  

By the way, I wonder if President Biden understands this:

While Norway is leading the way in green energy at the national level, many are criticizing its high level of oil exports, which are anything but carbon friendly.

As country leaders talk of a ‘green transition’, it has not been overlooked that Norway still relies heavily on its oil and gas revenues even if looking to make the switch to renewables at home. 

Norway’s ambitious carbon-cutting targets do not consider the emissions from the oil and gas that it sells to other countries, meaning it could still achieve net-zero without curbing its fossil fuel production.

The bigger story here: Norway's faux environmentalists know that their exports contribute to CO2 emissions (FWIW) which tells me they are not truly concerned about global warming.