Norway’s crude oil production averaged 1.776 million barrels per day in July, according to preliminary figures from the Norwegian Offshore Directorate.
The country also produced 183,000 barrels per day of natural gas liquids and 17,000 barrels per day of condensate, bringing total liquids production to 1.976 million barrels per day.
The year-over-year comparison is striking. Norway produced 1.971 million barrels per day of crude in July 2025, according to the Directorate’s latest revised figures. Crude output was therefore down by approximately 195,000 barrels per day, or nearly 10%.
Total liquids production declined by around 197,000 barrels per day, or 9.1%, from 2.173 million barrels per day a year earlier.
The timing gives the decline greater significance than the Norwegian numbers alone would suggest.
The International Energy Agency estimates that 8.3 million barrels per day of Gulf production remained shut in during July as severely restricted traffic through the Strait of Hormuz continued to limit exports. Although global supply increased during the month, it remained 6.3 million barrels per day below year-earlier levels.
Renewed hostilities and maritime disruptions have also prompted the IEA to reduce its projected third-quarter oil supply by 1.7 million barrels per day compared with its previous estimate.
In that environment, the market is becoming increasingly dependent on production from outside the Persian Gulf, particularly barrels that can reach refiners without passing through a geopolitically exposed chokepoint.
Norwegian Production Falls from June
Norwegian production also declined from June.
Revised figures show that crude output averaged 1.823 million barrels per day in June, while total liquids production reached 2.021 million barrels per day.
Crude production therefore fell by 47,000 barrels per day, or 2.6%, month over month. Total liquids output declined by 45,000 barrels per day, equivalent to 2.2%.
In a well-supplied market, a monthly Norwegian decline of this size could be absorbed relatively easily. Its significance increases when the global market is already relying on inventories, emergency reserves and alternative export routes to compensate for disrupted Middle Eastern supply.
The problem is not that Norway lost enough barrels to move the market on its own. It is that the loss comes from the part of the supply system the market still expects to work.
Norwegian crude is produced close to Europe’s refining system, supported by established infrastructure and largely insulated from the maritime constraints affecting Middle Eastern exports. Its value to the current market is therefore greater than Norway’s share of global supply alone would suggest.