Norwegian oil output in May above expectations

Norwegian oil production has been above predictions made by the Norwegian Petroleum Directorate (NPD) for the second month in a row.

According to the directorate’s report on Friday, preliminary production figures for May 2020 show an average daily production of 2,029,000 barrels of oil, NGL and condensate, which is a decrease of 78,000 barrels per day compared to April.

Total gas sales were 8.2 billion Sm3 (GSm3), which is a decrease of 0.9 GSm3 from the previous month.

Average daily liquids production in May was: 1,740,000 barrels of oil, 269,000 barrels of NGL and 20,000 barrels of condensate.

NPD noted that its oil production forecasts were updated in the Government’s proposed Revised National Budget for 2020 presented on 12 May.

The update takes the authorities’ oil production regulation into account, as well as the delayed start-up of fields under development, and oil production in the first quarter.

Oil production in May is one per cent higher than the NPD’s forecast, and 0.7 per cent below the forecast so far this year.

The total petroleum production for the first five months in 2020 is about 98.1 million Sm3 oil equivalents (MSm3 o.e.), broken down as follows: about 41.8 MSm3 o.e. of oil, about 7.9 MSm3 o.e. of NGL and condensate and about 48.4 MSm3 o.e. of gas for sale.

The total volume is 4.7 MSm3 o.e. higher than in 2019.