When Russia invaded Ukraine in 2022, Europe faced a cold winter and a sudden energy crisis, and it turned to Norway as it desperately tried to shift away from its dependency on cheap Russian energy.<\/p>\n
Now, the war in Iran has threatened global oil supplies and sent prices soaring. Whether or not the war is resolved quickly, those effects could be lasting.<\/p>\n
The crisis has once again exposed Europe\u2019s energy vulnerability and raised the question of whether Norway could expand its role as a dependable and friendly energy source right from within Europe.<\/p>\n
It\u2019s not as easy as it may seem.<\/p>\n
First, the Norwegians say that to boost production they would need to drill more in the Arctic, an area vulnerable to climate change.<\/p>\n
And second, there\u2019s brewing discomfort in Norway, which has built an image as an international peacemaker, with continuing to profit from war.<\/p>\n
A Fragile Frontier<\/p>\n
Norway is the biggest oil producer by far in Western Europe and exports 95 percent of its oil and nearly all of its gas to the European Union and Britain.<\/p>\n
At the moment, Europe gets 30 percent of its oil from Norway.<\/p>\n
Its output of two million barrels a day of oil can\u2019t compete with the likes of Russia, Saudi Arabia or the United States, and it ranks 12th globally as an oil producer.<\/p>\n
But it has other things going for it.<\/p>\n
\u201cOur product is not oil and gas,\u201d said Snorre Skjevrak, a state secretary in Norway\u2019s energy ministry, but \u201cstability, reliability and a long-term perspective.\u201d<\/p>\n
Norway\u2019s rigs are already pumping at maximum capacity. Norway\u2019s oil companies want to expand operations in the Arctic, where most of its supplies are located.<\/p>\n
But environmental groups worry about drilling in a region that has been made increasingly fragile by climate change.<\/p>\n
They also worry about the risks of an accident in one of the most pristine and hardest-to-reach stretches of the planet.<\/p>\n
The government, which owns a majority stake in Norway\u2019s largest company, says exploration is environmentally sound.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat you call the Arctic, we call Norway,\u201d Mr. Skjevrak said. \u201cIt\u2019s not some distant place for us.\u201d<\/p>\n
The Norwegian Paradox<\/p>\n
For many Norwegians, the perception of profiting from the war does not sit well with the nation\u2019s image of itself as international peace broker and home of the Nobel Peace Prize.<\/p>\n