Norway will keep developing oil in North Sea as it goes green

London (Quantum Commodity Intelligence) - Norway will keep the petroleum dollars rolling into state coffers, developing profitable oil and gas fields in the North Sea, the Norwegian government said Friday as it launched a white paper on decarbonising its economy with a push into hydrogen production for the shipping industry, carbon capture and storage, and wind power.

Minister of Petroleum and Energy Tina Bru said the main goal of the government's petroleum policy was to facilitate profitable production in the oil and gas industry in the long term, while still hitting the climate targets agreed in the Paris Agreement of 2015.  

"We will facilitate a future-oriented Norwegian oil and gas industry capable of delivering production with low emissions within the framework of our climate policy," said Bru.

As part of the green push, Norway will establish five hydrogen hubs for developing bunker fuel by 2025.

By 2030, the government hopes hydrogen will be established as a realistic alternative in the maritime sector, and it can be rolled out commercially into the market.

The Norwegian government has also put out several proposals Friday for developing and expanding offshore wind power.

Norway produced 1.725 million barrels of crude oil, 270,000 barrels of NGLs, and 13,000 barrels of condensate in April, according to preliminary figures from the government.