Norway Oil Output May Drop 6% in 2011, Gas Rise 2.5%

Norwegian oil production will fall 6 percent this year, its 11th annual decline, as the world’s seventh-largest crude exporter struggles to maintain output after 40 years of pumping from aging North Sea fields.

Production will fall to 98.3 million cubic meters in 2011, or 1.7 million barrels a day, from 104.4 million cubic meters in 2010, the Stavanger-based Norwegian Petroleum Directorate said today. Gas output is expected to rise to 109.1 billion cubic meters from 106.4 billion cubic meters, the agency said.