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Norway to keep exploring Barents Sea oil and gas despite EU moratorium
Norwegian Energy Minister Terje Aasland said Oslo will continue petroleum exploration in the Barents Sea while the EU Arctic drilling moratorium is still under discussion.
Norway will continue exploring for oil and gas in the Barents Sea, even as the European Union backs an Arctic drilling moratorium, according to OilPrice. Energy Minister Terje Aasland said Norway would not give up its petroleum reservoirs as part of broader European climate restrictions.
Aasland also dismissed an older push for Norway to become Europe’s “green battery,” calling the concept flawed, OilPrice reported. The outlet framed the exchange as a political tension around how Norway manages participation in an interconnected European energy system.
OilPrice added that the situation is complicated by Norway’s status: the country is not an EU member, and decisions over petroleum extraction on the Norwegian continental shelf remain under Norwegian sovereignty. The EU’s proposed Arctic moratorium appears in its Arctic policy, which the outlet said is being reconsidered as part of an updated strategy.
The outlet argued that Norway is not withdrawing from European energy integration. Instead, it wants to keep selling large quantities of oil, gas, and electricity to Europe while limiting the domestic political costs of operating in an interconnected market.