Norway's oil and gas production has significantly decreased in September. According to preliminary statistics released by the Norwegian Petroleum Directorate (NPD), the country's natural gas production fell by 12.6% in September, reaching 298.4 million cubic meters per day.
Details of the Gas Production Decrease
Total oil and gas production in Norway has averaged around 3.77 million barrels of oil equivalent per day (boepd), indicating a 10.4% decrease from the previous month and 4% lower than the NPD's forecasts. This reduction in gas production is significant, as it reflects a decrease of 43.2 million cubic meters per day from prior production, especially as the heating season approaches. Additionally, total gas sales in September reached about 9 billion cubic meters, down from 10.6 billion cubic meters in August.
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Impact of Annual Maintenance on Production
This poor performance coincided with the final stages of Norway's annual maintenance season. In late August, the operator of the Gassco pipeline warned that planned maintenance could temporarily reduce Norway's natural gas export capacity by about 20%. According to Gassco's transparency data, the cumulative capacity reduction in Norway's gas fields and processing facilities was expected to reach about 71 million cubic meters per day, equivalent to nearly one-fifth of normal daily deliveries.
However, the September statistics do not clearly indicate how much of the production decrease is related to planned maintenance and how much is due to other operational factors. Additional supply constraints have also emerged at the Ormen Lange field, operated by Shell, where a prolonged shutdown is expected to lead to a reduction in gas deliveries of 7.9 million cubic meters per day until February 1, 2027.
Norway's Oil Production Has Also Decreased
Norway's crude oil production also significantly decreased in September, averaging 1.73 million barrels per day (bpd), reflecting a drop of 145,000 barrels per day and 7.7% compared to August. This production was also 8.4% lower than in September 2025. However, unlike natural gas, crude oil production was slightly above the NPD's monthly forecasts, being 0.7% higher than expected.
Total liquids production, including crude oil, natural gas liquids, and condensates, averaged about 1.90 million barrels per day, down 168,000 barrels per day from August. This distinction between oil and gas is important, as while both commodities have experienced significant declines, natural gas has shown a greater deviation from official forecasts.
Norway's Production Continuity in 2026
Despite the poor performance in September, Norway's total oil and gas production remains above last year's levels. In the first nine months of 2026, cumulative production reached about 181.7 million cubic meters of oil equivalent, reflecting an increase of 5.1 million cubic meters or 2.9% compared to the same period in 2025. Crude oil production was also 4.1% higher than the cumulative forecasts of the NPD.
These statistics indicate that a decrease in production in a specific month should be viewed in a broader context. Norway's offshore production is influenced by planned maintenance, operational disruptions, reservoir performance, and the timing of new production capacities. Therefore, the September decrease alone is not indicative of a structural downturn.
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