Extraction and related services, 8 July 2005, preliminary figures

Value added is determined by three factors: production, prices and consumption of intermediate goods. The consumption of intermediate goods fell by 3.3 per cent to NOK 32.9 billion in 2002.

The oil industry includes operator and licensee activities related to the extraction and pipeline transport of crude oil and natural gas plus services and contract drilling.

Value added in the extraction of oil and natural gas amounted to NOK 265 billion in 2002. This represents a decrease of 12.5 per cent compared with 2001. However, value added is still on a high level. In services related to the oil and gas industry value added rose and was NOK 15.4 billion in 2002. The survey sample in this sector has been adjusted and now comprises a larger share of the companies. A part of the increase in services related to the oil and gas industry is a result of this change.

Value added in pipeline transport of crude oil and natural gas amounted to NOK 9.7 billion in 2002. As a consequence of the gas market directive from the EU and the liberalisation of the European gas market there have been some changes in the pipeline transport of crude oil and natural gas. A new system of tariffs has been in place since 2002, and this implies that the figures do not have the same basis of comparison as before.

Sales value down

The sales value of oil and gas production continued to fall from 2001 to 2002. The decrease was 12.2 per cent and the sales value is estimated to be NOK 280 billion. The price of crude oil continued to be high in 2002, and the average selling price of crude oil was to USD 25.14 per barrel. This represents a small increase compared with 2001.

Intermediate consumption

The consumption of intermediate goods in the oil industry hardly changed between 2001 and 2002. While there was a small increase in intermediate consumption within pipeline transport of crude oil and natural gas, the extraction of oil and natural gas fell by 3.3 per cent from 2001 to 2002. Total consumption of intermediate goods amounted to NOK 48.1 billion.

Higher employment

In 2002, more than 30 000 were employed in the oil industry excluding pipeline transport of oil and gas. Employment rose to almost 16 000 within the extraction of oil and natural gas and more than 14 000 within services related to the oil and gas industry.

Wage costs, including social benefits, amounted to NOK 22.7 billion in 2002. Broken down by sector, the wage costs within the extraction of oil and natural gas and in services related to the oil and gas industry amounted to NOK 13.9 billion and NOK 6.7 billion respectively.

Tables:

• Table 1 Principal figures for extraction of crude oil and natural gas. 1998-2002. (Corrected 28 September and 9 November 2004)
• Table 2 Intermediate consumption for fields on stream. 1998-2002. NOK million. (Corrected 9 November 2004)
• Table 3 Principal figures for service activities incidental to oil and gas extraction excluding surveying. 1998-2002
• Table 4 Principal figures for transport via pipelines. 1998-2002. NOK million. (Corrected 29 September 2004)