Norway oil exports value hit record high on Iran war

Norway oil exports value hit record high on Iran war

The closure of the Strait of Hormuz triggered a major supply shock, driving up oil prices in March and pushing Norway’s exports value to a record high.

A general view of the Johan Sverdrup field centre in the North Sea, 07 January 2020. Johan Sverdrup, situated some 140 km off the south western coast of Norway, is the third largest oil field on the Norwegian continental shelf, with expected resources of 2.7 billion barrels of oil equivalent. EPA
The Johan Sverdrup field, about 140km off Norway’s south-west coast, is the country’s third-largest oil field, with estimated resources of 2.7 billion barrels of oil equivalent. (EPA Images pic)
OSLO:
Norway’s crude oil exports hit a record high in March as the war in Iran and closure of the crucial Strait of Hormuz shipping lane drove up oil prices, Statistics Norway said Wednesday.

The Scandinavian country is the largest producer of oil and natural gas in Europe excluding Russia.

Around a fifth of global crude oil and liquefied natural gas (LNG) passes through the Strait of Hormuz in peacetime.

“The closure of the Strait of Hormuz has caused a significant supply shock on the oil market, which contributed to the high oil prices in March and thus (Norway’s) highest export value ever,” analyst Jan Olav Rorhus said in a statement.

Norway’s crude oil exports in March amounted to 57.4 billion kroner (US$6.08 billion), up by 67.9 percent from the same month a year earlier, Statistics Norway said.

The oil price averaged 1,014 kroner (US$107.52) per barrel in March, the highest monthly level since September 2023, it said.

The bonanza has not escaped the attention of US President Donald Trump, who referred to it in a post on Truth Social on Tuesday.

“Europe is desperate for Energy, and yet the United Kingdom refuses to open North Sea Oil, one of the greatest fields in the World. Tragic!!!” Trump wrote.

“Aberdeen should be booming. Norway sells its North Sea Oil to the UK at double the price. They are making a fortune,” Trump said.

Norway owes much of its prosperity to its oil and gas reserves.

It invests the state’s oil and gas revenue in its sovereign wealth fund, the world’s largest with assets of around US$2.19 trillion.

Created in the early 1990s, the fund is aimed at financing future spending in Norway’s generous welfare state, as revenue from oil and gas exports are expected to decline over the long term.

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