Norway’s September gas output slides 12.6% as maintenance wraps up
Norwegian gas production fell 12.6% from August to 298.4 million cubic meters daily in September, the Norwegian Offshore Directorate reported, as seasonal maintenance tapered off before the European winter heating period.
Combined oil and gas output averaged close to 3.77 million barrels of oil equivalent daily, a 10.4% drop versus August and 4% under the directorate’s projected figure. Crude output slipped to 1.73 million barrels daily, roughly 145,000 bpd lower, a 7.7% fall, yet it still beat the agency’s monthly estimate by 0.7%.
Gas sales reached approximately 9 billion cubic meters over the month, down from 10.6 billion the prior month. This slowdown lined up with the tail end of Norway’s yearly upkeep schedule, something grid operator Gassco had already warned about in late August, cautioning that export capacity could shrink by around a fifth during certain stretches before the month closed. Separately, a prolonged shutdown at a Shell-run gas facility, Ormen Lange, is anticipated to trim deliveries by close to 7.9 million cubic meters daily through February 1, 2027.
Even with the monthly pullback, gas output remained 5.1% above the level seen a year prior, and output across the first three quarters of 2026 ran 2.9% ahead of the same stretch in 2025. Gassco stated on October 1 that its primary maintenance activities had wrapped up, leaving pipeline infrastructure ready to handle winter-season demand.
Norway accounts for close to 30% of the gas consumed jointly by the European Union and the United Kingdom, a position that grew substantially once Russian pipeline supplies were scaled back after the Ukraine invasion. Given that a large share of fields on the Norwegian shelf are aging, keeping supply steady going forward will hinge on ongoing drilling and capital spending to counter the natural decline of existing reservoirs.
Why it matters: Fluctuations in Norway gas production ripple directly into European gas pricing and wider regional energy costs. A short-term supply crunch during peak winter usage could strain gas markets, while any sustained erosion in Norway’s output capacity would push Europe toward greater reliance on imported LNG — a trend relevant to the energy and commodity markets Praevis monitors.
Source: OilPrice.com