Norway experienced a significant decline in natural gas and crude oil production in September, with output levels falling below official forecasts, according to the Norwegian Petroleum Directorate (NPD). The country's natural gas production dropped to its lowest point since 1999, reaching 199.8 million cubic meters (mcm) per day compared to the previous month's 312.2 mcm. This significant decrease also missed the forecast of 319.1 mcm by 37.4%.

Similarly, crude oil production declined to 1.64 million barrels per day (bpd) in September from 1.79 million bpd in August, falling short of the projected 1.73 million bpd. The preliminary data from NPD indicated that this was the lowest output level since September 2019, which recorded 198.7 mcm per day.

The decline in production was attributed to maintenance activities that impacted several key fields, including the substantial Troll gas field. Maintenance operations at various fields took longer than anticipated, contributing to a drop in nominations for gas shipments to a low of 122.5 mcm/day on September 7, as reported by Gassco, the pipeline operator.

Earlier in August, Gassco's head had revealed that pipeline deliveries of Norwegian gas between January and August were already down by 6.4% compared to the corresponding period the previous year. The recent maintenance-related production cuts have further exacerbated the overall decrease in output.

The shortfall in both natural gas and crude oil production underscores the challenges posed by maintenance activities in the Norwegian energy sector, raising concerns about meeting production targets and potential impacts on the country's energy exports.