Norwegian gas exports to Europe and UK rise

Norway’s gas infrastructure operator Gassco said on Thursday that natural gas deliveries to European and British buyers in 2017 solidly outstripped previous annual levels.

Gassco transported 117.4 billion standard cubic meters (scm) of natural gas last year through the pipeline system from the Norwegian continental shelf (NCS) to continental Europe and the UK.

That represented an increase of 8 percent from 2016 and set a clear record in volume terms for the four decades since Norwegian gas exports began, Gassco said.

Gassco CEO Frode Leversund, said that “these currently cover about a quarter of Europe’s gas consumption and will remain a secure energy source for consumers there in the years to come.”

He added that an average regularity of 99.48 percent was achieved through the joint venture Gassled in 2017.

Gassco added that deliveries of natural gas liquids (NGL) and condensate from the process plants at Kårstø and Kollsnes in western Norway also increased, amounting to 10.2 million tons in 2017, up from 10 million in 2016.