Oil investments total NOK 76 billion

According to the investment survey conducted in the second quarter of this year, oil investments totalled NOK 75.9 billion in 1998. Compared to the same estimate for 1997 obtained in the second quarter last year, this is an increase of NOK 18.4 billion. The increase is mainly because of higher investments in fields in operation and fields under construction.

In the first quarter survey, total oil investments were estimated at NOK 71 billion. The NOK 4.9 billion change in the second quarter is mainly because of the upward revision of the estimates for field development and fields in operation, which came to NOK 2.7 and 1.9 billion respectively. Exploration investments were adjusted downwards by NOK 1.1 billion.

Record high for field development and fields in operation

In the survey carried out in the second quarter this year, investments in field development are estimated at NOK 38.5 billion. This is NOK 1.4 billion higher than similar estimates for the record year of 1993 and an increase of NOK 8.8 billion compared with corresponding 1997 estimates. The Åsgard, Troll C., Jotun and Oseberg Sør fields are making the biggest contributions to the high investment estimates. For fields in operation, the estimates for this year are now NOK 14.6 billion, NOK 4.6 billion higher than the same estimate for 1997. The estimate has been adjusted upwards by NOK 1.9 billion since the previous count. This is mainly because certain fields plan to expand their drilling programmes. If the situation of low oil prices and the shortage of drilling rigs persists, investments may be pushed back some.

New Statistics

Investment statistics. Oil activity, 2nd quarter 1998.
Statistics are published quarterly in the Weekly Bulletin of Statistics and Official Statistics of Norway (NOS) Oil and Gas Activity. For more information, contact: jorn.bugge@ssb.no, tel. +47 21 09 47 67 or lise.dalen@ssb.no, tel. +47 21 09 47 68.

Weekly Bulletin issue no. 23, 1998