The Progress Party wants to open more areas for oil and gas exploration, including previously opened areas in Nordland VI, Møre blocks, and Skagerrak, and to include them in the 26th licensing round this year. The party also wants to open the Barents Sea North for oil exploration, which is currently closed due to the ice edge zone. The Progress Party sees increased oil activity in the Barents Sea as security policy, given the growing international focus on the Arctic. The party has submitted a representative proposal for what they call 'the next oil adventure' and wants to conduct impact assessments for the areas Troms II and Nordland VII, and the non-assessed parts of Nordland VI, Møre blocks, and Barents Sea North for oil and gas production.
Political divisions have emerged over oil exploration in the Barents Sea and the Lofoten, Vesterålen, and Senja area. The Conservative Party and the Progress Party could secure a majority to facilitate oil and gas activity in the LoVeSe area after the next election. The Labour Party is not in favor of opening oil exploration in the LoVeSe area. The Socialist Left Party believes the climate crisis is a significant security risk and that opening the Barents Sea North will increase the danger of serious climate changes and oil spills in extremely vulnerable sea areas. The Red Party fears that opening the Barents Sea North will come at the expense of traditional industries like fishing. The Liberal Party highlights the technological risk of drilling in ice-covered waters, noting there is no technology to effectively clean up large oil spills in such conditions. The Green Party says there is no reason to believe oil drilling in the Arctic will contribute to peace or a strengthened foreign policy position for Norway. The Centre Party believes opening the Barents Sea North is clearly good security policy and contributes to increased oil and gas production that strengthens Europe's energy security, but is skeptical of exploration beyond the ice edge due to it being under-researched and economically demanding.
Environmental concerns and regulatory tensions are mounting over oil blocks. In the last eleven years, the state has proposed to announce 1,039 new blocks for oil and gas. The Norwegian Environment Agency has advised against 214 of the blocks due to concerns for nature and wildlife, with most warnings in the Barents Sea. All but three of the blocks advised against by the Norwegian Environment Agency were opened, and those three were stopped only after political horse-trading. Energy Minister Terje Aasland believes Norway has a solid system to safeguard both industry and nature on the Norwegian shelf, but regarding these specific advisories, the experts have not provided 'new and significant' enough information to change anything immediately. On New Year's Eve 2024, 77,000 liters of oil from the Njord A platform ended up in the sea, with some reaching vulnerable areas, marking the first time crude oil from the offshore oil industry reached Norwegian shores, according to the Norwegian Environment Agency.
Energy security context includes fuel reserves, refinery capacity, and storage regulations. Norway currently has reserves for 20 days of fuel consumption, while Sweden and Finland have 90 days. The Mongstad refinery in Nordhordland is today the only operational refinery in Norway. The government is working on updating the regulations for emergency fuel storage to better adapt to today's threat and risk picture.
The Hammerfest gas plant electrification and its power demands present another challenge. The government has given Equinor the green light to electrify the gas power plant outside Hammerfest with power from land to meet Norway's climate goals. Electrifying the gas power plant outside Hammerfest will consume almost as much power as the entire population of Finnmark uses today. The government has accelerated plans for wind power and grid expansion to replace the power for electrification, but the work is slow and at risk of being delayed due to objections from various parties.
Nuclear power has emerged as a proposal with local interest. The Progress Party has launched a representative proposal to facilitate nuclear power in Norway, with 13 points for the government to implement. Over 60 places have reported interest in establishing local nuclear power plants in Norway.
Resource potential and industry interest in petroleum remain significant. Over 60% of undiscovered resources on the Norwegian shelf are estimated to be in the Barents Sea, according to the Norwegian Petroleum Directorate. The number of first-choice applicants to the engineering study with a petroleum specialization has more than quadrupled since 2020.