A survey indicates that investment in Norway's oil industry is expected to reach its highest point in 2025.

Norwegian oil and gas investments are projected to peak this year and start to decline next year as significant projects finish, according to a survey by a statistics office released on Thursday. Norway accounts for about 2% of global oil production and became Europe’s top pipeline gas supplier following Russia's invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.

The country's leading industrial sector anticipates a record investment of 274.8 billion Norwegian crowns ($26.98 billion) in 2025, an increase from the previous estimate of 269.1 billion crowns in May and 251.2 billion crowns last year.

Preliminary projections for oil and gas investments in 2026 are at 229.4 billion crowns, compared to a prior estimate of 206.6 billion crowns from May. Statistics Norway stated that the expected decline from 2025 to 2026 primarily stems from reduced investment plans in field development.

Forecasts often rise as companies finalize their spending plans before the new year. Several new projects from firms like Equinor and Vaar Energi are anticipated to be approved this year and next, but overall exploration spending appears set to decrease. The projected investment growth in the latter half of 2025 is largely attributed to plans for increased production drilling, which is most affected by energy price fluctuations.

Statistics Norway noted that with lower and more volatile oil prices over the past four months and reduced gas prices this year, there is a risk that some planned drilling campaigns might be delayed. On Wednesday, oil prices dropped to their lowest levels in over two months after the International Energy Agency increased its supply growth forecast for this year and lowered its demand forecast.