Norway’s New Gas Field Gets Star Billing In COP 28

As policymakers in Dubai search for consensus on tackling climate change, the scale of the challenge is evident in the stormy waters of the North Sea, where Norway is opening another gas field, as reported by Stephen Treloar for Bloomberg.

The ConocoPhillips-operated Tommeliten A gas development is situated in the southern reaches of Norway’s economic zone. I Photo: ConocoPhillips Norway

Petroleum and Energy Minister Terje Aasland on Friday unveiled the ConocoPhillips-operated Tommeliten A gas development in the southern reaches of Norway’s economic zone.

In the wake of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, gas supplies from Norway are key to safeguarding Europe’s energy security in the coming years.

Rather than putting an end date on the oil and gas industry, Norway wants to use the engineering know-how from the sector to drive the development of renewable energy.

But the development of that field and others in the waters off Norway spotlight the tensions at COP28 in Dubai, where thousands of politicians, campaigners, and business leaders are trying to edge the world toward a potential commitment on phasing out fossil fuels.

Norway — where vast hydropower reservoirs and a world-leading electric car fleet contrast with strategic petroleum resources that feed a $1.5 trillion sovereign wealth fund — is a microcosm of that debate.

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