Oljeaksjer faller på Oslo Børs

Oslo Børs' main index fell marginally by 0.02 percent shortly after Oslo's opening on Monday. Crude oil prices hovered around the same levels as Friday afternoon. Nordsjøolje (Brent spot) traded at $104.2 per barrel at the time of writing, weakening from midnight levels. Several other highly traded stocks followed suit: European markets exhibited moderate gains in key exchanges, while Wall Street in the United States showed a cautious uptick in pre-market trading.

Asian markets experienced tentative declines in Monday's early hours, except for a sharp market drop in South Korea. Oil and gas company Vår Energi released an update on production and sales for the third quarter ahead of its full quarterly report on October 21st. Net production stood at 369,000 oil equivalent barrels per day for the quarter, slightly lower than the previous one.

Vår Energi warned that it expects production to end at 390,000 barrels per day for 2026, within the previously announced range of 390,000-410,000 barrels per day. The revised guidance was due to operational issues with the Johan Castberg and Jotun FPSO vessels in July, as well as problems in the Åsgard area, according to the company.

Crude prices reached $103 per barrel for Vår Energi in the third quarter, down from $110 a quarter prior. Gas prices saw a corresponding increase to $108 per barrel, up from $91 a quarter earlier. Analyst Sondre Snersrud of Nordea notes that Vår Energi is lagging in both production and gas prices, both of which were lower than expected.

With the revised 2026 guidance and lower crude prices, Snersrud predicts that it may put "some pressure on the stock." Daniel Stenslet, analyst at Arctic Securities, views the production in the third quarter as "better than feared," despite being lower than the guidance. His forecast is for third-quarter earnings to reach around $3.6 billion, in line with the consensus among analysts.

Snersrud of Nordea anticipates slightly lower earnings at $3.57 billion. Norwegian mining company Nordic Mining rose 16 percent in early trading. In the summer, the company issued a production update for the third quarter, showing an increase from the previous month. Rutil production aligned with its plan, while the company revised production estimates downward in August following production issues.

Local protests have caused occasional short-term production disruptions this October, as highlighted by the company. Demonstrations by Natur og Ungdom have targeted the project after the government granted Nordic Mining a temporary permit to dump mine waste into Førdefjorden. Operations continue, and the company is producing.