NEWS

Oil and natural gas production will rise to 222 million standard cubic meters of oil equivalents this year from 218.7 million cubic meters in 2011, the Stavanger-based Norwegian Petroleum Directorate said in a report today. Production is expected to hold “steady around” this level until 2016 and the share of gas in total sales is expected to increase to 50 percent in 2016 from 46 percent last year, the agency said.

Oil production is expected to drop 3.6 percent to 93.8 million cubic meters this year and a further 3.8 percent to 90.2 million in 2016. Gas output is seen at 106.7 billion cubic meters this year and is expected to rise to 112.1 billion in 2016, according to the statement.

Investments including exploration are expected to rise to about 170 billion kroner in 2012 from “just under” 150 billion kroner in 2011, the NPD said. Exploration costs in 2012 are estimated at about 30 billion kroner, about the same level as estimated in the previous forecast, it said.

“A further moderate increase is expected toward 2016,”the NPD said in a statement posted on its website today. “If exploration activity is excluded, investments during the period 2010-2012 will grow by more than 40 percent.”