OSLO (Reuters) -Norwegian oil and gas companies have increased their projected investments for 2026 compared to estimates made three months ago, a quarterly statistics office survey of industry players showed on Thursday.
Norway produces about 2% of global oil and became Europe’s largest supplier of natural gas after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.
The country’s biggest business sector expects to invest a record 275 billion Norwegian crowns ($27.38 billion) in 2025, in line with estimates from August and up 7.3% from last year.
Still, investments remain on course for a decline in 2026 from a peak this year, Statistics Norway said.
Preliminary estimates for oil and gas investments next year 2026 were seen at 248.6 billion crowns, compared to a previous estimate of 229.4 billion crowns in August.
Record high investments this year are driven by projects that had been approved by oil companies in 2022, supported by temporary tax incentives.
With ongoing projects reaching their investment peak, and few new having been approved since 2022, the overall oil investments are set to decline.
(Reporting by Nerijus Adomaitis and Terje Solsvik, editing by Essi Lehto)
