Norway Reports Strong EU Gas Exports for 2018

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Written by Martin Lynch, European News Editor for Industrial Info (Galway, Ireland)--Norwegian gas exports to the European Union (EU) dipped slightly in 2018 but still recorded their second strongest ever year.

Norway delivered 114.2 billion cubic metres (bcm) last year to continental Europe and the U.K. through the Norwegian offshore network according to Gassco, the Norwegian state-owned company that operates 8,800 kilometres (km) of natural gas pipelines. It compares to 117.4 bcm delivered in 2017, the strongest export year on record. The EU relies on Norway for around a quarter of its gas needs.

"Norway's gas deliveries to Europe are stably high, and exports in 2018 were the second-highest ever," said Gassco Chief Executive Officer Frode Leversund. "This shows that Norwegian gas is regarded as an attractive and reliable energy source for European consumers."

Norway is the third largest exporter of gas in the world after Russia and Qatar. Russia also supplies around a quarter of Europe's gas needs but growing tensions related to Russia's military aggression in Ukraine--a key transit point for EU oil and gas--has seen the EU backing a number of alternative gas pipeline and liquefied natural gas (LNG) projects to reduce its reliance on Russia.

Gassco reported that 2018 saw a new record for summer deliveries to Europe, with 36.8 billion cubic metres of gas exported from May to August. "Availability for delivering gas in the transport system was over 99% in 2018," said Leversund. "This is a strong figure, and we're very proud of it. Norwegian gas has many competitive advantages, but the fact that the integrated transport system, with process plants and terminals, runs steadily with the lowest possible climate impact is something we work hard to achieve every single day."

In related news, Gassco announced that gas began flowing regularly through the Polarled pipeline last month, the first offshore pipeline to cross the Arctic Circle. Running for 482 km, it carries output from the Aasta Hansteen field in the Norwegian Sea, opening up a completely new province for supplying Norwegian gas to Europe. The pipeline terminates at the Nyhamna plant in western Norway, where the rich gas gets processed before dry gas is sent on.

Leversund said: "Starting up Polarled shows us that the Norwegian continental shelf is still under development. It will help to maintain gas deliveries from Norway to Europe for a long time to come."

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