Letter from Norway: Tax stimulus medicine gets to work
New legislation aids the country in reaching peak hydrocarbon production. But increased interest in renewables still poses stranded resources risk
The second week of March was characterised, in Norway as in the rest of Europe, by pandemic fear, strict restrictions and great uncertainty about short-term oil and gas output. It did not take long for E&P companies to start reducing activity and cutting budgets drastically, a worrying sign that bankruptcies and job layoffs were next. But in Norway, rather than contracting a lethal dose of pandemic paralysis, the oil and gas industry instead took some medicine to ride out the storm. The industry, its unions and politicians worked together and, just three months later in early June, unveiled a tax stimulus package for increased investment in oil and gas. The new tax incentive will signifi
Also in this section
10 March 2026
By shutting the Strait of Hormuz, Iran has cut exports of distillate-rich Middle Eastern crude, jet fuel and diesel, and is holding the energy market hostage
10 March 2026
Eni’s director for global gas and LNG portfolio, Cristian Signoretto, discusses how demand will respond to rising LNG supply, and how the company is expanding its own gas and LNG operations through disciplined, capital-efficient investments
9 March 2026
Petroleum Economist analysis sees increases in output from Saudi Arabia, Venezuela and Kazakhstan among others before region’s murky descent
9 March 2026
Energy sanctions are becoming an increasingly prominent tool of US foreign policy, with the country’s growth in oil and gas production allowing it to impose pressure on rivals without jeopardising its own energy security or that of its allies, argues Matthew McManus, a visiting fellow at the National Center for Energy Analytics
