Norwegian energy companies reduce investment

Baku. 24 November. REPORT.AZ/ Oil and gas companies in Norway cut spending forecasts for 2017.

Report informs citing Bloomberg, the companies expect to invest 147 billion kroner (17.2 billion USD) next year, down 3.6% from a previous estimate. They previously reduced their forecast in August.

Tommy Hansen, director of communications at the Norwegian Oil & Gas Association, said that 2017 will be yet another challenging year and energy companies spending is set to drop for a third year in 2017. The decline is on course to be the longest since the mid-1990s and the steepest on record.

Oil and gas investments in Norway next year will be 13% lower than in 2016 and 34% lower than a 2014 peak.

Joachim Bernhardsen, an analyst at Nordea AB, stated that today’s investments survey signals that the oil brake will be heavier through next year: "As such, the upswing in growth is likely to be somewhat postponed."

The loss of thousands of jobs in Norway’s offshore industry helped drive the country’s unemployment rate to a 20-year high over the summer.