Norway’s Liquids Output Rebounds by Nearly 100,000 Bpd—but Still Trails 2025

Norway's crude oil production surged to 1.882 million barrels per day in August, exceeding projections but still falling short of the 2025 level, according to preliminary data released on Tuesday. Overall liquids production, encompassing crude oil, natural gas liquids, and condensate, averaged 2.073 million barrels per day, marking a 4.9% increase from July's 1.976 million barrels.

Despite this rise, liquids output remains 4% lower than in August 2025, indicating a rebound from July's decline rather than a return to year-on-year growth. Crude oil output climbed by 98,000 barrels per day, or 5.5%, from July's 1.784 million barrels, surpassing the Directorate's August forecast of 1.803 million barrels by 79,000 barrels.

However, crude output remains 74,000 barrels per day, or 3.8%, below the 1.956 million barrels produced in August 2025. The improvement suggests that a portion of July's decline may have been temporary. Norwegian offshore output can fluctuate due to planned maintenance and operational stoppages across individual fields. Natural gas production fell short of expectations in August, averaging 342 million standard cubic meters per day, 6.6 million cubic meters below the Directorate's forecast of 348.6 million.

This decline, while still 8.2 million cubic meters higher than the 333.8 million recorded in August 2025, has implications for Europe, where Norway is the largest natural gas supplier and pipeline deliveries are crucial for the regional supply balance ahead of the winter heating season. August's recovery in liquids production, though significant, shows that Norway has not yet returned to growth.

The critical question now is whether output continues to recover as summer maintenance ends or declines further as mature offshore fields assert themselves.