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| Fig. 1: Denmark's annual oil production vs consumption from 1981 to 2021. [1,3] (Image source: S. Ruppert) |
While Demark has been producing oil since 1972, production in the early years was restricted to a single oil field yielding less than two million tonnes of oil by the end of the decade. [1] Like many other countries, Denmark imported oil to meet its energy demands, 90% of which came from the Middle East. [2] So, when the 1973 and 1979 oil crises caused oil prices to quadruple at their peak, the Danish government implemented a series of laws and policies encouraging domestic exploration and production efforts. [2]
Starting with the energy plan of 1981, Danish oil production increased significantly, peaking in 2004 at 19.3 million tonnes. [3] Since then productivity has been steadily decreasing again, sitting at 3.2 million tonnes in 2021. [3] Fig. 1 shows these trends from 1981 until 2021. By the end of 2020, Denmark had 100 million tonnes of proven oil reserves. [3] All of the country's oil fields are located in the Danish part of the North Sea (see Fig. 2).
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| Fig. 2: Approximate location of Danish Oil fields. [1] (Image source: S. Ruppert and Wikimedia Commons) |
Denmark originally invested in its oil industry to avoid energy dependence on external forces. Taking data from annual BP Statistical Reviews, we can check whether that goal has been reached, i.e. whether Danish oil production exceeds oil consumption. [3]
Fig. 1 shows that the Danish oil industry first became self-reliant in 1997 and sustained this until 2015.
Danish oil production has been dwindling since many of its drill sites have run dry, which led to its production rate dropping below its consumption rate yet again. [2] However, Denmark is still aiming to be independent of foreign oil. This time, not through an increase in domestic production, but by becoming completely independent of fossil fuels. The Danish Energy Agency's current energy strategy aims to reach this goal by 2050. [1]
© Sephora Ruppert. 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] K. Sperling et al., "Denmark Without Oil and Gas Production: Opportunities and Challenges," Aalborg University, 2021.
[2] M. Rüdiger, "The 1973 Oil Crisis and the Designing of a Danish Energy Policy," Hist. Soc. Res. 39, No. 4, 94 (2014).
[3] "BP Statistical Review of World Energy," British Petroleum, 2002, 2005, 2013 2021, 2022.
