Net cash flow to the central government was NOK 528 billion at the end of the year. That is 342 billion more than the previous year and five times more than what Petoro considers a normal year.
The increase is mainly due to significantly higher income as a result of increased oil and gas prices and increased gas sales. The gas price last year was 2.5 times as high as the average price in 2021 – NOK 11.95 per standard cubic metre.
Higher oil price
The average realized oil price was USD 104 per barrel, compared to USD 70 in 2021. Some of the price increase is due to the weakened krone exchange rate.
Energy prices are at record highs as a result of the Ukraine war, a war that will mark the geopolitical picture for a long time. Norway now covers 30 percent of Europe’s gas needs. Gas deliveries from the Norwegian continental shelf increased by eight percent last year, writes Petoro in a report on last year’s results.
– It has never been more important to have safe and stable gas deliveries to Europe and Norway is a guarantor of this as a predictable and long-term supplier, says managing director Kristin Kragseth in Petoro.
Increase in production
Petoro is the company that handles the business matters linked to the state’s direct financial involvement in petroleum activities on the Norwegian Continental Shelf (NCS).
Total production was just over 1 million barrels of oil equivalent per day, 17,000 more than in 2021. Gas production was 109 million standard cubic meters per day, an increase of 7 per cent from the previous year.
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