Norway has stretched its gas production capacity to the limit as it seeks to ensure a stable and high supply to the crisis-hit European market, Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre said on Thursday
MOSCOW (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 06th October, 2022) Norway has stretched its gas production capacity to the limit as it seeks to ensure a stable and high supply to the crisis-hit European market, Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre said on Thursday.
Støre assured the European Union during the inaugural meeting of the European Political Community that the Nordic nation saw production from its continental shelf as the "single most important contribution" it could make to curb soaring energy prices.
"Let me state clearly: High and volatile gas prices in Europe is not in Norway's interest. They lead to explosive electricity prices in large part of Norway," the Norwegian Labor leader said in Prague.
Norway has been reaping record profits as gas prices have continued to soar on the back of the conflict in Ukraine, becoming the EU's biggest gas supplier this year.
Støre said companies drilling on the Norwegian continental shelf were on track to deliver a historically high 122 billion cubic meters of gas in 2022, up 8% from last year. This equals a third of what the EU consumed in 2021.
"At this level, we are at our maximum with the Primary constraint being field capacity," the prime minister told the EU's political club.
Norway, not an EU member, has set up an ad hoc task force on energy with the European Commission to ensure continued high-level production, Støre added. He assured the bloc that his country continue doing its utmost.
