Russia's war in Ukraine has forever changed Europe's energy landscape - Norway minister

A giant energy producer, Norway finds itself at the forefront of an energy crisis that reached dramatic new heights on September 27 after the alleged sabotage of Russia's Nord Stream gas pipelines in the Baltic Sea.

"I think obviously this is sort of a challenging moment. We are doing what we can to maintain the security of the Norwegian Continental Shelf," Andreas Bjelland Eriksen, State Secretary in Norway’s Ministry of Petroleum and Energy, told Euronews Next.

NATO ally and European Free Trade Association (EFTA) member Norway has proved a lifeline to the European Union by becoming the 27-nation bloc’s biggest natural gas supplier since Russian cuts to gas supplies after its invasion of Ukraine.

Norway has ramped up gas production to meet European demand and, according to Eriksen, the country is expecting to produce 8 per cent more gas this year compared to last year.

Before the war in Ukraine, Norway covered about 20 per cent of the EU’s gas demand and will this year supply about 25 per cent of it, according to the research company Rystad Energy.

"I think if we accept the premise that Russia's invasion of Ukraine has changed the energy landscape in Europe forever, and that there is sort of no going back to the pre-war status," said Eriksen.

"They [Europe] will need gas from other sources than Russia. And in that perspective, I think it's it's hard to see that there are many places where it's more natural to continue to import gas from in a European context than from Norway".

According to Norwegian government statistics, revenues from the petroleum industry are expected to rise by about a quarter to €90 billion this year, up from €62 billion in 2021.

“We produce as much as possible and we do everything in our power to maintain the system at full speed going forward so that we deliver as much energy as possible to Europe,” said Eriksen.

"For us, it's important that they know and we show them that Norway is a reliable, trustworthy, and long-term energy partner for Europe".