Norway's oil companies are planning a three-year ramp up in natural gas exploration in the Barents Sea, Reuters reported on Wednesday. The decision comes after Europe has shown interest in the remote Arctic due to a sharp fall in Russia's gas supplies. Norway on Tuesday made its biggest award of new drilling licences in five years, which included permits for Barents Sea exploration given for Aker BP and Eni's subsidiary Vaar Energi. Equinor's head of Norwegian operations, Kjetil Hove, told Reuters that "there is a step up in the Barents Sea," as the companies start exploring the region for gas rather than the usual oil explorations. "We are going to explore for natural gas in the western part of the Barents Sea together with Vaar Energi and Aker BP," he said. Since the Russia-Ukraine war started in 2022, Norway has replaced Russia as Europe's top natural gas supplier.
