Although Norway was not part of the "OPEC +" agreement, it committed itself to reducing production during the last period. However, the statements of its officials about new plans in 2021 may set a new nail in the coffin of the "OPEC Plus" agreement.

In a report published by the Russian newspaper "Gazeta", the writer Rustam Valekhov shed light on the statements of the Norwegian authorities regarding the increase in its production and oil sales starting from January 2021, and its impact on the global market.

The writer quotes a number of experts as saying that this Norwegian move could motivate other parties to rebel against the terms of the "OPEC Plus" agreement, and this could lead to a collapse in oil prices again, and to large losses for the Russian budget, which depends a lot on oil revenues.

Denied extension

Norway had refused to extend the restrictions on oil production, and the Norwegian Ministry of Oil and Energy published on its official website its new plans that will be implemented in the new year, after its commitment to previous decisions to reduce production from last June to 31 December.

Norwegian officials confirmed that the measures taken this year within the "OPEC Plus" agreement played an important role in stabilizing the oil market, but they made it clear that Norway had not received any official invitation to attend the meeting, which was held on the first and the third of this December.

According to Norwegian statements, the country's production will double in its largest field, the Johan Sverdrup field, with a production of 4.4 million barrels per month.

Production actually rose last October by 6%.

The Norwegian Minister of Energy and Oil stated that the production of this December will be 300 thousand barrels per day, which is less than what was originally planned.

 Falling prices

According to the writer, the Norwegian decision to raise production - along with other factors, such as the return of the flow of Libyan oil, and the possibility of lifting sanctions on Tehran at the beginning of the term of US President-elect Joe Biden - may lead to a drop in oil prices and undermine the "OPEC Plus" agreement.

Ekaterina Grushevenko, an expert with the Energy Center at the Moscow School of Management, explains that Norway reduced its production by 250,000 barrels per day last June, then an additional 143,000 barrels per day until the end of 2020.

Analyst Valery Yemlyanov confirms that Norway was not a party to the "OPEC Plus" agreement, but rather was an observer member, and supported reducing oil production to ensure the stability of the global market, but ultimately decided to return production to normal levels with the beginning of the new world.

Russia's main competitor

The chief analyst at Alor Broker, Alexei Antonov, believes that the Norwegian move is not the first that may lead to the disintegration of the agreement, as Ecuador has already withdrawn from it, and a number of countries are trying to show their commitment to reducing production, but they are actually going around On the convention.

According to him, Norway's decision to increase production will not significantly affect the global market, but it may harm Russia's interests.

Because Norway is a major competitor to Moscow in the European energy market.

The author believes that increasing production in a number of countries that are not signatories to the "OPEC Plus" agreement, such as the United States, Canada and Brazil, may directly affect Russia and the global oil market in general.