Norway oil industry raises 2019, 2020 investment forecasts

Oil and gas companies working in Norway have hiked their 2019 and 2020 investment forecasts as they add more field development plans, a survey by the country’s statistics agency (SSB) showed on Tuesday.

Investments for 2019 are now seen at 183.7 billion Norwegian crowns ($21.11 billion), a four-year high, up from 172.7 billion crowns seen in February.

“The oil companies’ latest estimates for 2019 suggest an increase of as much as 17% compared with the corresponding figure for 2018,” the agency said in a statement.

“This growth is considerably higher than indicated in the previous survey, which showed a 7.9% increase,” it added.

In 2020, investments are projected to be 172.4 billion crowns, higher than the 158.5 billion seen three months ago and subject to potential upward revision in the months to come, the agency said.

Equinor is Norway’s largest oil company, competing with Aker BP, Lundin Petroleum, Total, ConocoPhillips, ENI and Shell, among others.

Source: Reuters