Norway to cut oil production by 13% | Financial Times

Norway to cut oil production by 13% | Financial Times:

Norway will cut its oil production for the first time in 18 years, as Western Europe’s largest crude producer moves to respond to the coronavirus-linked crash in fuel demand.

The country’s oil and energy ministry said late on Wednesday that it would order producers to curtail production by 250,000 barrels a day in June or more than 13 per cent of total output, as the country honours an unofficial pact with Opec and its allies to help shore up the market.

The move comes as oil demand is estimated to have crashed by as much as a third globally, with measures to curtail the spread of coronavirus hitting travel and the economy. Oil prices have dropped by more than 70 per cent since January, with Brent crude slumping below $20 a barrel for the first time in almost two decades last week.

“We are currently facing an unprecedented situation in the oil market,” said Tina Bru, Norway’s minister of petroleum and energy. “We have previously stated that we will consider a cut in Norwegian production if several big producing countries implement significant cuts.”