Norway's gas production fell 12.6% in September from August, according to preliminary figures from the Norwegian Offshore Directorate. The drop comes as Europe approaches the winter heating season, but output remains above year-earlier levels.
Norway's natural gas production fell 12.6% in September from August, according to preliminary figures released Tuesday by the Norwegian Offshore Directorate (NOD). Total petroleum production averaged approximately 3.77 million barrels of oil equivalent per day, down 10.4% month-on-month and 4% below the directorate's forecast.
The decline lands as the winter heating season approaches, and Norway remains the continent's largest supplier of pipeline natural gas.
Gas output misses the forecast
Gas production averaged 298.4 million standard cubic meters per day in September, down from approximately 341.6 million cubic meters per day in August. Output also fell 6.7% below the directorate's forecast of 319.9 million cubic meters per day.
Meanwhile, total gas sales reached approximately 9 billion cubic meters in September, compared with 10.6 billion cubic meters in August.
Maintenance and an extended outage
The weaker performance coincided with the final stages of Norway's annual offshore maintenance season. In late August, pipeline operator Gassco warned that planned maintenance could temporarily reduce export capacity by approximately 20% during parts of the period leading up to the end of September.
However, the NOD's September figures do not establish precisely how much of the decline came from scheduled maintenance rather than other operational factors. Separately, an extended outage at the Shell-operated Ormen Lange field was expected to reduce gas deliveries by approximately 7.9 million cubic meters per day until February 1, 2027.
Output still ahead of last year
Despite the monthly drop, Norwegian gas production remained 5.1% higher than in September 2025. Over the first nine months of 2026, petroleum production was 2.9% above the corresponding period last year. On October 1, Gassco confirmed that its major scheduled maintenance activities had been completed.
Crude oil also weakened. Norway produced an average of 1.73 million barrels per day, down 7.7% from August and 8.4% lower than in September 2025.
Source: Oilprice.com
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