Another European country has overtaken Russia as the main supplier of natural gas to Europe, Reuters reports.

Norway is now Europe’s biggest gas supplier, overtaking the country led by President Vladimir Putin after it cut or cut natural gas supplies to several “unfriendly countries,” according to data from Refinitiv Eikon.

The Nordic country plans to maintain high levels of natural gas production until the end of this decade as the European Union plans to end its dependence on energy imports from Russia, Norwegian Energy Minister Terje Asland said in an interview with Reuters on Tuesday.

“I expect that we will be able to maintain the level of production we are at now until 2030. We see that there are projects and development and operational plans that can help us maintain high gas volumes in the future,” he said.

The amount of natural gas produced by Norway

Norway expects to produce about 122 billion cubic meters of natural gas this year, according to official forecasts released by the government in May. This amount is 8% more than in 2021 and aims to break the record set 5 years ago.

Asland also said he was more confident about Europe’s long-term demand for Norwegian gas after his country and the EU bloc signed a deal in June to increase imports of natural gas produced from Norway’s continental shelf.

“This is an important message we received from the EU,” Asland stressed.

Norway has already responded to rising gas demand in Europe by diverting it to export instead of pumping it back into the ground to boost crude production.

The government in Oslo does not want additional taxes for oil companies

The price of natural gas on the European markets increased almost three times this year, breaking record after record.

However, Norway has no intention of selling below the market price, as some analysts and politicians have suggested.

“Basically, the market is predictable. When there is a rarity, the prices are high. It also helps increase production and redirects gas to markets that need it the most,” says Aslund.

“Disrupting the market and creating rules that look good now can contribute to the destruction of the foundations for building stability and confidence in the future,” the Norwegian minister added.

He also added that the government in Oslo has no plans to impose new taxes on oil companies, despite their record sales.

“We have no discussions about additional fees. The additional profit of the companies is now the basis for future investments and the basis for the complete transformation of the energy sector”, Terje Asland emphasized.