General – Reduction Gas Emissions
Norway has achieved a 27% reduction in greenhouse gas emissions from its offshore oil and gas operations since 2015, according to a new report from the Norwegian Offshore Directorate (NOD).
The country’s success is largely attributed to its growing use of ‘power-from-shore’ solutions, which replace gas-fired turbines on production platforms with electricity supplied directly from the onshore grid.
Since 2015, several such projects have been implemented, cutting emissions by 4.1 million tonnes of CO₂-equivalent, the directorate said. Between 2020 and 2025, the number of oil and gas fields adopting or planning to adopt power-from-shore has more than doubled—from 16 to 39. Additional reductions are expected as more projects come online in the coming years.
The NOD attributes much of this progress to rising carbon costs. Norway introduced its carbon tax in 1991, one of the world’s first market-based systems to penalize greenhouse gas emissions. Since 2020, the CO₂ cost has risen sharply—from around NKr 860 ($86) per tonne to NKr 1,860 projected for 2025.
“This means that the environmental cost now accounts for a significant share of operating costs for fields operated using gas turbines,” the directorate noted. “CO₂ costs are expected to continue to rise in the years to come.”
Despite strong progress, several proposed power-from-shore projects have been discontinued due to high development expenses. Currently, only one new project—the Grane/Balder electrification scheme—is under active consideration, with a potential final investment decision expected by late 2026 and a possible start-up in 2032.
Energy major Equinor recently informed the government that it would halt work on electrification of the Halten Bank and Tampen areas, citing escalating abatement costs.
“We do believe that electrification is an important tool for the future,” said Torgrim Reitan, Equinor’s chief financial officer, during the company’s third-quarter results presentation. “But of course we need to see sufficient profitability in anything that we do.”
Reitan added that the company’s existing power-from-shore projects remain profitable.
While offshore wind is seen as a complementary source of clean electricity for Norway’s offshore platforms, its role remains small. At present, only one such project – Hywind Tampen – is operational, supplying renewable power to the Gullfaks and Snorre fields.
