«The roof on the price of gas? It can backfire against Europe »- Corriere.it

According to Eurostat, Norway exported gas to Europe for two billion euros in 2020, six billion in 2021 and ten billion in the first half of 2022 alone. So it is starting to increase its gas profits tenfold. For oil, a fivefold growth is expected, up to one hundred billion. The Corriere della Serawith a small group of major European newspapers, talks about it with the premier of Oslo, Jonas Gahr Støre.

Prime Minister, some say you are taking advantage of the situation created by Vladimir Putin’s war …
«The most important contribution that Norway can make to Europe is to produce and export gas, preferably on the increase. It is not the Norwegian government that sells the gas. These are the Norwegian and European companies that have been licensed on the Norwegian continental shelf in accordance with public rules. And exports to Europe increased by 8-10%, about 100 terawatt hours more. Without this increase, the prices would have been even higher. It is not Norway that sets prices on the European market, nor the companies, nor the government. Prices are the result of gas shortages. They are the result of Putin’s war ».

Is Norway an economic winner of this war?
“There are no winners in a war. There are basically losers on all sides ».

Many European countries suffer under the weight of prices …
“It is not in our interest to have such high and volatile gas prices. They also affect the electricity prices in my country, which have increased tenfold. And most Norwegians heat their homes with electricity. Secondly, the crisis affecting European industry certainly does not help us, because most of the Norwegian industry works together with our neighbors. They are our allies and partners and we are certainly not happy that there are social tensions in these countries. We therefore work with our partners to facilitate gas exports. We encourage companies to evaluate long-term contracts, which help stabilize the markets ».

Do Western sanctions also create high prices?
“It will be up to historians to judge how the sanctions have really affected the Russian economy. But imposing severe sanctions is right. It is a fair measure by Europe to respond to Russian aggression and Norway has followed every package of the European Union. Of course, the sanctions have consequences in both directions, but the greatest burden is borne by the Ukrainian people who are attacked every day. We must therefore do what it takes to support Ukraine and support sanctions against Russia ”.

With its extra profits, should Norway increase its support for Ukraine?
“We have a responsibility to assist Ukraine. We have committed one billion euros to Ukraine on what is left of 2022 and 2023, for humanitarian, economic and military support. And we work through the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development to help Ukraine to stockpile gas ».

How would it react if the European Union decided to cap gas prices?
«We must work together so that the market operates in such a way as to guarantee the supply and correct distribution of gas. Norway is the main supplier, but there is also liquefied gas which comes from the United States and the Gulf. We respect the fact that Europe is considering how best to regulate the markets. We limit ourselves to advising against measures that could have adverse effects, increasing the demand for something in which there is scarcity and limited supply ».

Are you saying that a price cap could backfire on those who impose it?

“Yes, following the discussions in the EU, I see many different points of view and I can understand why: the countries find themselves in a different situation in each one. Norway, in dialogue with the Commission, wanted to share its experience to prevent the proposed solutions from backfiring that it puts them into practice ».

With the European partners, you have talked about long-term contracts to control prices. How does this fit in with the green transition aiming to eliminate gas?

“There is no contradiction between long-term gas contracts and climate targets. Gas will be an essential resource in Europe’s transition to renewable energy. For this reason we invest in technologies such as CO2 capture and storage. Gas can be a unique resource for producing hydrogen and producing emissions-free electricity ».

Is Russia behind the Nord Stream incident?

“It was clearly a sabotage. As for the role of Russia, I do not intend to speculate. As a major oil and gas producer since the early 1970s, safety has always been paramount to us and we are now more vigilant than ever. The Norwegian navy and allied forces have increased patrolling around the facilities, in the air and at sea. We have observed suspicious drones around our platforms, which are now closely monitored. It is also very important to strengthen cyber-security ».

Norway is making large investments in carbon capture, transport and storage. Because?
“There is no chance for the world to achieve the Paris Agreement goals and for the EU to achieve its Fit-for-55 goals without CO2 capture and storage. There are industrial sectors with emissions that are difficult to abate, cement and waste for example, which can reduce, but not eliminate, CO2 emissions. They will then have to capture the CO2 and deposit it safely, not in the atmosphere, but underground. During the energy transition we will live on fossil fuels and now we have the opportunity to get rid of CO2 underground or under the sea floor in safe deposits. We are also working on the complete value chain for transport and storage. On the west coast of Norway, we now have a complete industrial site that will soon be ready to collect CO2 from a cement plant, a waste treatment plant in Oslo and the fertilizer sector in the Netherlands. The three plants together produce enough CO2 to be transported by ship to this site. Then a 100-kilometer-long pipeline will bring the CO2 to the continental shelf to store it in a reservoir 2-3,000 meters below the seabed. For me this is the beginning of something very big. We will soon be able to store up to two million tons of CO2, with the prospect of reaching five. The North Sea fields probably have enough space to store most of Europe’s CO2 for many decades “.

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