The new Prime Minister, Jonas Gahr Store, told the Financial Times in his first interview after taking office that Norway will not stop producing oil and gas because it would threaten the European energy transition.

He said: “If we were to say from one day to the other that we close down production from the Norwegian shelf, I believe that would put a stop to an industrial transition that is needed to succeed in the momentum towards net zero. So, we are about to develop and transit, not close down.”

Before his elections, the President was quoted saying in September: “I believe that calling time on our oil and gas industry is the wrong industrial policy and the wrong climate policy.”

He said Norway will continue to grant permits for oil and gas exploration on the Norwegian shelf and will keep the current system of oil auctions. Over the next four years—during the term in office of the government—most of the exploration activity will take place in mature areas of the shelf.

Norway is the largest oil and gas producer in Western Europe, as well as Europe’s second-largest gas supplier behind Russia. As a result, the country’s fossil fuel production is critical to Europe’s efforts to diversify its energy sources. It is also a leader in the green transition, with significant investments in electric vehicles, wind power, and energy storage. It also has a lot of hydropower, which is one of the reasons it has a considerably greener energy status than most European countries.

Norway has vowed to establish a net-zero economy by 2050 and to reduce emissions from oil and gas production by half by 2030.