Norway will not cut natural gas prices for importers in the European Union, the kingdom’s oil and energy minister Terje Ausland told Norwegian newspaper E24 on August 26.
Osland said that companies operating on the Norwegian shelf “operate on a commercial basis,” and that the government will not impose contracts on businesses to export gas at below market prices.
The official noted that the EU administration has already about 20 years ago began to gradually abandon long-term contracts in favor of the spot market. And he added that Norway “reserves the possibility to allow companies to enter into such contracts based on economic interests”.
On 18 August, the Financial Times wrote that leading gas importers in the EU are offering to supply gas at below-market prices to Norway to combat the energy crisis. At the same time, Russia has repeatedly stated that it is in favour of long-term contracts, with minimal dependence on spot quotations. Russian President Vladimir Putin stressed during the SPIEF-2022 forum that Russia exports gas to the EU at prices “five times lower than the market”. In particular, the price of long-term contract for supply of Russian gas to Moldova before switching to spot pricing (until November 1, 2021) was only $450 per 1000 cubic meters.