STAVANGER, NORWAY (Reuters) – Equinor said on Monday it plans to invest 60 billion to 70 billion Norwegian crowns ($5.3 billion-$6.7 billion) a year in oil and gas fields off Norway until 2035, as it expects strong demand for fossil fuels.

“We see a long-term demand curve for Norwegian oil and that is why we continue to invest,” Equinor CEO Anders Opedal told a news conference.

The Norwegian energy giant said it could produce 1.2 million barrels of oil equivalent per day (boe) in Norway in 2035, up from 1.4 million boe in 2023, and drill 20 to 30 Norwegian exploration wells per year over the next ten years, up from 26 wells in 2023.

The group also reaffirmed its forecast to deliver 40 billion cubic metres of gas to Europe each year until 2035.

Norway is Europe’s largest gas supplier and a major oil producer. However, several of its largest offshore fields are in decline and no new developments are currently planned for the 2030s.

Norway’s oil industry regulator said last week that the country’s oil and gas companies should increase investment to slow an expected decline in coming years.

Investments in oil and gas by all companies offshore Norway are expected to hit a record high this year and remain at high levels in 2025, driven by continued exploitation of fields and rising inflation, according to data from Statistics Norway released earlier in August.

Kjetil Hove, Equinor’s country operations director, said at the same press conference that there were still “attractive opportunities” offshore Norway.

(Reporting by Nerijus Adomaitis and Nora Buli, by Elena Smirnova, edited by Augustin Turpin)

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