...Oil Collapse Sparks Uncertainty: Weak oil is a significant challenge for the industry. Norway's liquids production plummeted from 3.4MMbpd (million barrels a day) in 2001 to 1.8MMbpd in 2013, but a pipeline of new projects and enhanced oil recovery techniques helped stabilise output in 2014. In addition, natural gas production has been on the rise. Fitch Ratings believes Norway's production costs will overall remain competitive, but lower oil prices may push exploration down, and some new higher-cost projects will be suspended. Mature Province: The North Sea, where Norway's production is concentrated, is a mature petroleum province. This means that many Norwegian oil and gas (O&G) producers need to invest heavily in drilling and enhanced oil recovery techniques to curb declining production rates. Large discoveries are also less likely in mature areas. The gigantic Johan Sverdrup field was a lucky exception. Other parts of the Norwegian Continental Shelf (NCS), the Norwegian and Barents...
