High, volatile prices in Europe 'not in Norway's interest': PM

High and volatile prices in Europe are "not in Norway's interest", Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre said Nov. 29, as he pledged to prioritize gas export stability given the country's key role in European supply.

Speaking at an industry event in Oslo, Støre said Norway had also taken measures to enhance security of its offshore energy infrastructure.

"Norway's most important contribution is to be a stable gas supplier," Støre said, according to a government statement.

He added that state-controlled Equinor -- the largest player on the Norwegian Continental Shelf -- was "perhaps Europe's most important company in today's situation."

Norway is now the biggest single supplier of gas to Europe after Russian flows were sharply curtailed through 2022.

Producers such as Equinor have been incentivized to maximize exports by high European gas prices, with some prioritizing gas recovery over oil production.

Platts, part of S&P Global Commodity Insights, assessed the Dutch TTF benchmark month-ahead price at an all-time high of Eur319.98/MWh Aug. 26.

Prices have weakened since on healthy stock levels, mild weather, and demand reductions, but prices remain historically high with the TTF month-ahead price last assessed Nov. 29 at Eur130.23/MWh.

Norwegian pipeline gas exports in the first 10 months of 2022 totaled 93.7 Bcm, up by more than 5.5 Bcm year on year, according to S&P Global data.

In October, Norway and the European Commission agreed to develop tools to stabilize energy markets and limit the impact of price volatility, saying the two sides shared a "common determination" that prices should be significantly reduced.

The EC wants to use the EU's common negotiating power to be able to agree with its "trusted" supply partners ways to bring down the cost of gas imports into the EU.

However, in an interview with S&P Global in September, Norway's state secretary for energy, Andreas Bjelland Eriksen, said it was commercial operators that were responsible for gas sales.

"They sell their production in the market at commercial terms. Gas flows to the landing point with the highest price," Eriksen said.

Offshore security

Støre, meanwhile, also praised the work of Norway's offshore workers, saying they were "literally helping to keep the lights on in Europe."

He pointed to the recent "explosions" on the Nord Stream and Nord Stream 2 gas pipelines from Russia to Germany in the Baltic Sea as causing a feeling of increased insecurity among Norwegian offshore workers.

"I can assure you that we take safety on the NCS very seriously. This has always been a priority for the government, but we have taken several steps this year for the sake of personnel and to ensure an uninterrupted supply of Norwegian gas to Europe," he said.

Both strings of the Nord Stream system and one of the strings of the parallel Nord Stream 2 were hit by suspected sabotage attacks on Sept. 26. The second Nord Stream 2 string remains intact and capable of flowing gas.

Separate probes into the damage have been carried out in Danish and Swedish waters, with preliminary results pointing to sabotage.

The explosions on the pipelines raised concerns over the possibility of further attacks on key European energy infrastructure.

That prompted European efforts to bolster energy infrastructure security, with Norway in particular increasing security around its offshore oil and gas installations and pipelines.

Neither Nord Stream nor Nord Stream 2 were flowing commercial gas to Europe at the time of the incidents.

Nord Stream flows were halted Aug. 31 and did not resume operations due to what Gazprom has described as maintenance issues with turbines at the Portovaya compressor station.

Nord Stream 2 never started commercial operations despite construction work on the pipeline being completed in September 2021 and the lines being filled with gas in December.