'Some Surprises' in Norway's Continental Shelf, says Energy Official

Norway's continental shelf could provide some hydrocarbon surprises in the near future, a leading energy official has said.

In the latest of a raft of positive projections of the Scandinavian country's gas and oil prospects, the director of the Norwegian Petroleum Directorate (NPD) said he was optimistic about prospects.

"The increase in the resource estimate and major new discoveries show that the Norwegian shelf still has some surprises left, and that there is good reason for continued optimism on behalf of the oil and gas activities in Norway," NDP Director General Bente Nyland said in a statement.

The Directorate said it expected "high activity" offshore in the next five years. For natural gas, the government said it reached a record level in sales, though oil production declined more than expected. 

An assessment of the undiscovered resources and new discoveries increased the estimate of total resources on the Norwegian continental shelf nearly 4% to 480 billion cubic feet of oil equivalents.

 Agencies noted that his assessment follows a report from consulting company Wood Mackenzie that noted a record number of licences awarded last year, though some discoveries proved disappointing.

Norway is Europe's second-largest exporter of natural gas after Russia.