Norwegian government rebuked over decision to reopen North Sea gas fields

The Norwegian government has been heavily criticism for approving plans to reopen three North Sea gas fields nearly three decades after they were closed to help fill the gap in energy supplies created by the Middle East war.

Amid sharp price rises in oil and gas since the US and Israel’s attack on Iran in February, Oslo has also given its approval for oil and gas companies to explore in 70 new locations in the North Sea, Barents Sea and Norwegian Sea.

The decision by the Labour-run government goes against the advice of the country’s environment agency and has infuriated left-leaning parties.

“We live in troubled times,” the prime minister, Jonas Gahr Støre, said as he announced the decision, which would “create great value for the community, lay the foundation for good jobs throughout the country, ensure our common welfare and contribute to Europe’s energy security and safety”.

The Albuskjell, Vest Ekofisk and Tommeliten Gamma gas fields in the North Sea were closed in 1998. The government plans to spend 19bn kroner (£1.5bn) on restarting them by the end of 2028 with production to continue until 2048.

The gas will be sent by pipeline to Germany and light oil will be sent to the UK.

Norway set out the plan to expand its North Sea oil and gas production amid a row in the UK over the future of hydrocarbons in UK waters. The Labour government has banned new exploration licences, but the energy secretary, Ed Miliband, is under pressure to make a decision on whether to allow two projects which were granted licences under the previous Conservative government to go ahead.

Norway’s state oil company, Equinor, hopes to develop the Rosebank oil field, while Shell is waiting for a government decision on its Jackdaw gas project. Climate campaigners have said the projects would undermine the UK’s climate agenda, while some industry experts have argued that domestic fossil fuels would lead to lower emissions than US imports and would bring greater economic benefits.

The 70 new areas of Norway’s seabed to be opened up for exploration include some closer to the coast than ever before. Companies have until 1 September to apply, and licences will be granted early next year.

The deputy leader and environment spokesperson for the Socialist Left party, Lars Haltbrekken, said the decision was madness and accused the government of greenwashing.

“It shows that the government is once again blatantly ignoring environmental advice from its own experts,” he said. “All the talk about responsible oil extraction is nothing but nonsense. It’s greenwashing through and through, with vulnerable and important natural areas being put at risk with full awareness.”

Expanding the area for exploration licences would not solve today’s oil crisis and could have “potentially catastrophic consequences for fish and bird populations”, he said.

“We are now risking oil drilling right up to the shoreline. If an accident happens, we have no chance of preventing an environmental catastrophe.”

Equinor has pumped record amounts of oil and gas since the US-Israeli war with Iran and the closure of the strait of Hormuz strangled the flow of oil and gas from the Gulf to the global markets.

It pumped 2.31m barrels of oil equivalent a day in the first quarter, according to its latest financial results, almost 9% more than in the same months last year and almost double the increase financial analysts predicted.

The company’s record fossil fuel production combined with surging market prices helped it to its highest quarterly profits since 2023, when Russia’s invasion of Ukraine caused a gas supply shock across Europe. Equinor expects the disruption to last well beyond any end to hostilities.

Norway’s energy minister, Terje Aasland, said: “Norwegian production of oil and gas is an important contribution to energy security in Europe. Development of new gas fields helps Norway maintain high deliveries in the long term.

“This has become more important after Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine and the conflict in the Middle East.”

The Norwegian prime minister’s office declined to comment.