Norway's pipeline gas exports to Europe at record high in 2017

OSLO, Jan 2 (Reuters): Norway's pipeline gas exports to Europe hit a record high in 2017, exceeding the previous year by almost 7.0 per cent, preliminary data from the country's offshore gas systems operator Gassco showed on Tuesday.

Europe's second-largest gas supplier after Russia exported 116 billion cubic meters (bcm) of natural gas via pipelines to receiving terminals in Britain, Germany, France and Belgium last year, up from the previous record of 108.6 bcm in 2016.

Norway's pipeline gas exports meet about a quarter of Europe's demand.

Analysts said Norway's export levels in 2017 were boosted by low summer maintenance at the country's offshore gas fields, and higher output from its largest field, Troll.

More than 40 per cent of all exports went to terminals in Germany, and over 30 per cent to Britain, with the rest shared between France and Belgium.

The highest daily delivery in 2017 stood at 365.3 million cubic meters, the preliminary data showed.

Norwegian authorities increased Troll's production quota to 36 billion cubic meters from Oct. 1, 2017 until Sept. 30, 2018, up from 33 bcm for the previous 12 months, its operator Statoil has said.

Norway's annual export of gas to Europe has held at over 100 billion cubic meters each year since 2012, Gassco's data showed.