As the war and ensuing power crunch drag on, the sums flowing north are proving embarrassing. A place keen on its image as a force for good in the world is having to fend off charges of war profiteering
Save time by listening to our audio articles as you multitaskDoes this passion still stir in Norwegian hearts? For months, as Ukrainians have fought and Europeans shuddered at the prospect of opening their energy bills, the continent’s richest country has been getting conspicuously richer. Supplying energy to Europe was always lucrative for Norway, the world’s fourth-largest exporter of natural gas.
Norway would be prosperous even had it not stumbled upon offshore oil five decades ago. The vast quantities of energy it exports nowadays are merely a balloon-sized cherry on the cake. In a normal year sales of oil, gas and electricity bring in over $50bn, or $10,000 per Norwegian. That is enough to turbocharge a Scandinavian welfare state and lots of summer cabins on picturesque fjords. Now, thanks to the war, Norway’s energy-export revenues have shot up to a run rate of over $200bn a year.
Until recently Europeans, Norway’s main customers, did not quibble. Any non-Russian energy source was welcome, and the alternatives were mainly in the Middle East and north Africa. For Western politicians, pleading for hydrocarbons from a Norwegian minister is less awkward than doing so from an authoritarian petro-potentate. Norway merely demanded that thetone down its lectures about the country’s need to move away from fossil fuels faster.
Politicians in Oslo have their own power problems to contend with. Because of abundant hydroelectricity, Norwegians feel entitled to cheap juice: many consider turning off the lights upon leaving a room a quaint habit. But a drought has depleted reservoirs, sending electricity prices spiking in parts of the country. Even in a rich country, this hurts. Some industries, such as the production of fertiliser or the smelting of metal, only exist by dint of low-cost power.
Granting a discount on gas to European customers may be too sensitive for Norwegian politicians. But the prime minister, Jonas Gahr Store, this week suggested its energy firms might agree to long-term contracts that underprice gas today in exchange for stable profits later. That would be a start. Better yet, Norway should offer to pitch in to whatever relief schemes thecomes up with, perhaps of the sort that helped alleviate the effects of covid-19.
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