EU, Norway eye ‘huge’ Arctic oil and gas deposits

The EU and Norway are meeting in Brussels to discuss energy issues, including the exploitation of possibly huge oil and gas deposits in the Arctic. But a border dispute with Russia is so far holding up exploration in the area.

Norway covers between 10 and 18% of EU oil demand and about 15% of its natural gas. The country, a member of the European Economic Area since 1994, is the world’s third largest exporter of oil and gas after Saudi Arabia and Russia.
Energy Commissioner Andris Piebalgs is holding talks with his Norwegian counterpart Odd Roger Enoksen on 30 August in Brussels to examine ways of strengthening a bilateral energy dialogue launched in 2002.

Talks on longer-term exploitation of the expected huge oil and gas reserves in the Arctic will probably attract most attention. The region is believed to hold 25% of the earth’s hydrocarbons, according to the US Geological Survey. And as international demand for fossil fuels continues to rise, the High North is attracting growing interest from big oil and gas companies.

But a territorial row between Norway and Russia in the so-called “disputed zone” of the Barents Sea has so far prevented further exploration, let alone commercial exploitation of these resources.

EURActiv