Field Stoppages Pull Norway’s July Oil and Gas Output Below Forecast

Norway's combined oil and gas production missed an official forecast by 2.5 per cent in July, the Norwegian Offshore Directorate (NOD) said on Thursday.

Norway is Europe's largest supplier of natural gas and a major producer of oil, but output varies from month to month depending on maintenance needs and other stoppages at close to 100 offshore fields.

Overall oil, condensate, natural gas liquids and gas output stood at 0.665 million standard cubic metres per day, equivalent to 4.18 million barrels of oil equivalent, a decrease of 1.5 per cent year-on-year.

Natural gas production in July rose to 350.6 million cubic metres (mcm) per day from 329.8 mcm a year earlier, but still lagged a forecast of 357 mcm by 1.8 per cent, the regulator said on its website.

Crude oil output fell to 1.78 million barrels per day (bpd) in July from 1.97 million bpd in the same month last year, and came in below a forecast of 1.82 million bpd, NOD's preliminary data showed.

(Reporting by Terje Solsvik, editing by Elviira Luoma)