Norway Is Investing $20.5 Billion Into Fossil Fuel Infrastructure Following The Ukraine War

Norwegian oil firm Aker BP and its partners will invest more than 200 billion crowns ($20.46 billion) in developing oil and gas fields off Norway in the coming years, according to a press release.

Aker BP has submitted one installation and operation plan and ten plans for project development and operation to the Norwegian Ministry of Petroleum and Energy (MPE) of oil and gas, according to a company press release. These projects amount to a total investment of more than NOK 200 billion (about $20.5 billion, or about €20 billion) and represent one of the largest private industrial developments in Europe.

“The scale of the development plans we are presenting to the Minister of Oil and Energy is a manifestation of our ambition to create the oil and gas company of the future—with low costs, low emissions, profitable growth, and attractive returns,” he said. Karl Johnny Hersvik, CEO of Aker BP, said in a statement. “We are uniquely positioned for profitable growth, not least through our operator role for many of the major field developments on the Norwegian shelf over the next few years.” This gives us a great opportunity to be at the forefront of the transformation of the oil and gas industry, in close collaboration with our licensing partners, our alliance partners, and other strategic partners.

Meanwhile, according to a study published in May 2020, nearly half of all existing fossil fuel production sites must be closed if global warming is to be kept below the 1.5C threshold, the internationally agreed-upon target for avoiding a climate disaster. According to the findings, simply halting the construction of new fossil fuel infrastructure is insufficient.

The implications of Aker BP’s new oil and gas plans for the nation’s emissions and climate impacts have yet to be discussed. The only certainty is that as these new projects emerge, renewables will have to take a back seat.