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| Fig. 1: Norway's production of natural gas over time, converted at 0.735 kg m-3. [1] (Source: J. Finkelman) |
In 2021, the European Union imported around 200 billion kg of natural gas with about 49% of those imports coming from Russia. [1] Following the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the EU block has worked to gain independence from Russian energy sources. In 2021, the EUs second-largest share of natural gas imports was from Norway. [1] Since the invasion, Norway has increased its production of natural gas and opened a new gas pipeline in Northwestern Europe. This report dives into the specifics of these activities.
Norwegian gas sales in 2022 to Europe are forecasted to be up 8% from the previous year. [2] In 2021, Norway exported 59.5 billion kg (converted from cubic meters) of natural gas to the European Union. [1]
On September 27, 2022, Norway announced the opening of a new gas pipeline, Baltic Pipe, that transports natural gas to Poland from Norway via Denmark. [3] Although years in the making, given current events, the pipeline is an important milestone in helping the region achieve energy independence from Russia. The pipeline can carry up to 7.35 billion kg of natural gas per year. [3] For context, in 2021, Poland consumed around 17.05 billion kg of natural gas, about half of which was imported from Russia. [4]
Norway has increased production to fill a gap left by Europe cutting its reliance on Russian fuel sources. Norway is now the European Union's leading natural gas supplier.
© John Finkelman. The author warrants that the work is the author's own and that Stanford University provided no input other than typesetting and referencing guidelines. The author grants permission to copy, distribute and display this work in unaltered form, with attribution to the author, for noncommercial purposes only. All other rights, including commercial rights, are reserved to the author.
[1] "BP Statistical Review of World Energy 2022," British Petroleum, June 2022.
[2] E. Rauhala, "Norway Is Portrayed as Both Hero and Villain in Europe's Energy Crisis," Washington Post, 12 Oct 22.
[3] M. Eddy, "Safety Concerns Overshadow Europes First New Gas Link in Decades," New York Times, 1 Oct 22.
[4] J. Whalen, "Poland Spent Decades Trying to Quit Russian Gas. Now It Nas No Choice," Washington Post, 27 Apr 22.