The Norwegian Prime Minister assures Chancellor Scholz of gas supplies on his trip to Scandinavia. However, the production capacities are already at the limit. In order to be able to further increase exports, the country must first develop new resources.
Norway has promised Germany further gas deliveries at a high level - but the country is reaching the limits of its capacity. "It is not the case that we can simply decide politically, we are now delivering even more," said Norway's Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Störe at a meeting with Chancellor Olaf Scholz in Oslo. Norway has increased its gas exports and is currently delivering "the maximum that we can deliver". Scholz said he was "grateful" that Norway was "exhausting its gas supplies to the maximum". This is "very important to reduce our gas dependency on Russia".
Norway is "a special partner for Germany," said Scholz. "We want to expand and deepen our energy partnership." The Chancellor had previously attended a meeting of the Nordic Council of Ministers in Oslo. In addition to Scholz and Störe, the Prime Ministers of Sweden, Denmark, Finland and Iceland were also present. The most important topics were the energy supply and the security situation in view of the Russian war in Ukraine.
Norway is currently delivering more gas and oil to Germany and Europe than ever before. For Germany, the kingdom is the second largest gas supplier after Russia. Norway now covers more than 30 percent of Germany's natural gas requirements, and imports have risen significantly since the beginning of the Ukraine war. This allowed Norway to replace some of the imports from Russia. After the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the Norwegian Ministry of Energy adjusted the production licenses for three large offshore fields so that even more natural gas can be extracted there.
However, the production and pipeline capacities are now being utilized to the full. For Norway, it is now a matter of developing new resources in order to be able to further increase exports, said Prime Minister Störe at the meeting with Scholz. The country will also increasingly supply Germany with liquefied natural gas (LNG) from the plant in Hammerfest in northern Norway. The Chancellor said: "You can rely on Norway." Scholz and the heads of government of the five Nordic countries agreed to work even more closely together on the energy transition in the future.
Host Störe found words of praise for the German energy transition: Germany has "taken on the great challenge of developing renewable energies". Nevertheless, turning away from fossil energies will be "hard and turbulent". "Almost everything that can be turned into energy will be turned into energy," announced Störe.
Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen said with regard to gas imports from Russia: "We are facing a challenging autumn." Finland's Prime Minister Sanna Marin warned of a "cold winter" and added: "We have to prepare our populations for what is at stake stands." Iceland's Prime Minister Katrin Jakobsdottir referred to her country's extensive experience with renewable energies - such as geothermal and hydroelectric power. Iceland is happy to provide this expertise.
Scholz wants to hold political talks with the Swedish government in Stockholm on Tuesday. The planned northern expansion of NATO is likely to be at the center of this. For decades, Sweden and its neighbor Finland had pursued a policy of military neutrality - but the Russian war of aggression in Ukraine led to a rethink. The process of admitting the two countries into NATO has started. "NATO will become even stronger with the accession of Sweden and Finland," said Scholz in Oslo.
