Petrostate Norway says it needs more oil
As global warming surges towards the UN's two-degree target, the Norwegian government offers another 57 oil licenses on the shelf.
A mantra of Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre is that that the oil industry must be 'developed and not phased out.'
This week, the government in Oslo once again gave a boost to the industry that is the key driver of climate change.
In a new licensing round, the country' Ministry of Energy awarded 57 production licenses in so-called predefined areas.
According to Energy Minister Terje Aasland, Norway must "produce as much as possible."
"Norway is Europe’s most important energy supplier, but in a few years production will begin to decline. Therefore, we need new projects that can slow the decline and deliver as much production as possible," he said in a statement.
Of the 57 production licenses offered, 31 are located in the North Sea, 21 in the Norwegian Sea, and five in the Barents Sea.
A lion's share of the new licenses will be operated by Equinor (35). In total, 19 oil companies are offered parts in one or more licenses.
Awards in Predefined Areas (APA) is an annual exploration round for the Norwegian continental shelf. The APA rounds are carried out within a fixed area, the APA area.
At the same time as offering licenses in the APA 2025, the energy ministry announced the upcoming APA 2026. According to Minister Terje Aasland, the number of licenses will be expanded to 70, of which 38 will be in the Barents Sea.
"The petroleum sector is our largest and most important industry. The Government will continue to develop the industry so that our petroleum resources can be managed for the benefit of the Norwegian people and our allies in Europe," Aasland said.
The higher level of exploration is followed by a surge in investments. According to Statistics Norway, Norway invested an estimated 275 billion kroner (€23,34 billion) in the oil industry in 2025, an increase of more than 35 percent from 2022.
Emissions from burning of fossile fuels are the driving force behind global warming. The UN Paris Agreement set a goal to limit global warming to well below 2°C above pre-industrial levels, while also pursuing efforts to limit it to 1,5°C.
The two-degree target is getting increasingly difficult to meet with the current pace of warming.
