The Norwegian capital, Oslo, was the green capital of Europe in 2019, which reflects the significant growth in renewable energy in Norway, where more than 90% of electricity comes from hydroelectric power, and despite that, the largest revenues come from its oil and gas exports, taking advantage of the high prices following the war In Ukraine, it is expected to rise to more than 100 billion pounds in the current year 2022, and to 119 billion pounds in 2023, according to an extensive report published by the British newspaper, The Telegraph, on Saturday.
Before the war in Ukraine, Russia used to supply the European continent with regarding 20% of the natural gas, and more than half of Germany’s needs, as it was one of the largest exporters of oil to the European continent, but following the war, most of the European continent has now turned to Norway and other oil and gas exporting countries, Norway has become the first oil country in Europe, achieving astronomical gains, at the expense of allied importing countries such as Britain and Germany.
astronomical returns
The newspaper pointed out that before the Corona pandemic, revenues from oil and gas exports were generating regarding 24 billion pounds annually to Norway, while this is expected to rise to more than 100 billion pounds in the current year 2022, and to 119 billion pounds in 2023. .
The newspaper pointed out that Norway’s revenues from oil and gas are being transferred to a huge sovereign wealth fund, worth 1 trillion pounds sterling.
Oil discoveries
Norway had begun oil discoveries, and the first major discovery was made in 1969, which is the “Ekofisk” oil field in the North Sea, and production began in 1971, and it is one of the largest offshore oil fields that have ever been operated, and it is expected to continue operating following 2050 .
This was followed by a series of huge discoveries, perhaps the most important of which is the “Johann Sverdrup” field in the North Sea in 2019, which is expected to produce 720,000 barrels of oil per day.
The prosperity in the oil field is due to the encouraging tax system offered by the Oslo government, which grants exemptions of up to 70% to companies that invest in Norwegian exploration and production. The abundance of fossil fuels and booming investment have increased the strength of the Norwegian economy, making the country and its inhabitants fantastically rich. .
Between 1971 and 2021, the gross domestic product increased by 2858% to nearly $428 billion, according to data from the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD).OECD), compared to an increase of 1394% in Britain.
The country’s huge sovereign wealth fund, known as the “Oil Fund”, provides a boost to Norway’s budget, paying off petroleum revenues and taxes, before returning some money to the central government each year to cover the non-oil budget deficit.
And in light of the decline in Russian energy supplies to the European continent, Norway has increased its supplies, and its gas exports to Europe have increased from 20% before the crisis, to regarding 25% today, and the company “GASCO” (Norway’s state-owned pipeline operator) says that the amount of gas that will be Its export to Europe this year will reach 117 billion cubic meters, a significant increase from 113 billion cubic meters last year.
