The largest oil and gas producer in Western Europe, Norway, said on Saturday it would consider cutting its oil production if the world's biggest producers agreed to a global agreement to curb supply.
OPEC and its partners are working on an agreement for a cut in oil production equal to around 10 percent of world supply in what member states consider to be an unparalleled global initiative, including the US.
Nevertheless, Washington has yet to commit itself to support the campaign. In the first quarter of the year, oil prices shed two-thirds of their value, pummeled by a decline in demand due to coronavirus lockdowns, and after Russia and Saudi Arabia failed to agree on further cuts in production.
Norway has entered key international discussions on the challenging situation in oil markets and would be willing to engage in production cuts as part of a wide international initiative, Petroleum and Energy Minister Tina Bru disclosed on Saturday.
Nonetheless, the declaration goes against years of practice in which producer states in the North Sea have resisted attempts to interfere directly in the marketplace.
In February, Norway produced 2.1 million barrels per day of oil, about 2-3 percent of global production, and about two-thirds of North Sea oil output. The North Sea is home to the Brent Data index, which is used around the world in oil markets.
Norway, which can supply around 2 percent of global consumption for oil, is not an OPEC member. It has reduced its oil production many times in the past, including in 1990, 1998 and 2002, when prices dropped, always in unison with other producing nations.
Norway trimmed down its production by approximately 150,000 barrels per day during the first half of 2002, after oil prices plunged to under $20 per barrel following the terror attacks in the US on Sept. 11, 2001.
Norway's crude oil output in February was pegged at 1.75 million barrels per day, up 26 percent from a year ago courtesy of the ramp-up of the government-operated Johan Sverdrup oilfield by Equinor.
Meanwhile, Norway's Equinor has raised $5 billion in fresh debt in order to reduce the negative effects of the oil crisis, the firm said. The bond maturities range from 2025 till 2040.
The Norwegian heavyweight launched a $3 billion capital and cost reduction plan earlier this year. It also announced a postponement of its $5 billion share buyback initiative, consistent with its peers' actions, which have also cut spending plans and suspended share buybacks.
