Greenhouse gas emissions and other emissions to air – Offshore Norge – Climate and Environmental Report 2025

6. Greenhouse gas emissions and other emissions to air

Emissions to air from oil and gas activities consist mainly of CO₂, NOx, SOx, CH₄, and nmVOC from various types of combustion equipment and direct emissions. Emissions to air are, in most cases, calculated based on the quantities of fuel gas and diesel used on the facilities. The emission factors are based on measurements from suppliers, standard factors developed by the industry in cooperation with the authorities, or field-specific measurements and calculations.

6.1 Climate strategy for the Norwegian continental shelf

Reducing emissions to the air to a minimum has been a key objective for both the industry and the authorities since the oil and gas industry began in Norway more than 50 years ago. The oil and gas sector is Norway’s largest industry. The climate transition in this sector is essential for achieving national climate goals, strengthening competitiveness, and ensuring long-term employment and energy security from the Norwegian Continental Shelf.

In 2020, KonKraft developed the climate strategy "The energy industry of tomorrow on the NCS – Climate Strategy Towards 2030 and 2050". Subsequently, the Norwegian parliament issued a resolution requesting that the government present a plan together with the industry to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 50 percent by 2030. KonKraft thus based its ambitions for emission reduction efforts on the following:

The oil and gas industry in Norway will reduce its absolute greenhouse gas emissions by 50 percent by 2030 compared to 2005 and further reduce emissions to near zero by 2050.
Norwegian oil and gas industry, together with shipping companies and rig owners, will be a driving force in ensuring that vessel categories within offshore maritime activities actively contribute to achieving the goal in the government's action plan for green shipping of a 50 percent emission reduction by 2030 in domestic sea transport and fishing.

In addition to the goal of reducing emissions from their own operations, the oil and gas industry has ambitions to create a new and forward-looking energy industry on the Norwegian continental shelf that will help other players reduce their emissions. The KonKraft partners aim to develop new value chains for offshore wind, hydrogen, CCS, and seabed minerals on the continental shelf.

Annual status reports provide an updated picture of how the industry is progressing towards the 2030 goals and the development of the new value chains based on the planned projects by the stakeholders. KonKraft's report will be published in June 2025. The main sources of emissions to the air from the oil and gas industry are:

combustion of natural gas in turbines, engines and boilers
combustion of diesel in turbines, engines and boilers
flaring
combustion of oil and gas for well testing and well maintenance

Other sources of emissions to the air include:

gas venting, minor leaks, and fugitive emissions
evaporation from storage and loading of crude oil offshore

Power generation using natural gas and diesel as fuel is the primary source of CO₂ and NOx emissions. These emissions primarily depend on the energy consumption of the facilities and the efficiency of power generation. The second-largest source is the direct combustion of gas, known as flaring. Flaring occurs only to a limited extent on the NCS, as stipulated by the Petroleum Act, but is permitted for safety reasons during operations and in connection with certain operational issues.

Half of the methane emissions (CH₄) from offshore oil and gas installations are direct emissions from production processes, such as from compressors and the handling of produced water. For non-methane volatile organic compounds (nmVOC), the main sources offshore are the loading and storage of crude oil. Emissions of nmVOC occur, for example, when gaseous air is displaced by crude oil during the loading of crude tankers.

SOx emissions are primarily caused by the combustion of sulphur-containing natural gas and diesel. Since Norwegian natural gas contains low sulphur, the use of diesel is the primary source of SOx emissions. To minimise SOx emissions, low-sulphur diesel is used.

Figure 20 illustrates emissions to air on the NCS compared to the international average per barrel of produced oil equivalent. All figures are from 2023 because international data for 2024 are not available as of June 2025.

Figure 20: Emissions to air on the NCS compared to the international average.

6.2 Greenhouse gas emissions

Global warming is one of the greatest challenges of our time, and extensive reductions in human-induced greenhouse gas emissions are essential. Through the Paris Agreement, member countries have committed to reducing greenhouse gas emissions by ensuring that the average rise in global temperatures is kept below 2°C compared to pre-industrial levels and to further strive to contain this temperature increase to 1.5°C.

As part of the Paris Agreement, Norway has committed to reducing its greenhouse gas emissions by at least 55 percent by 2030 compared to 1990 levels. This will be achieved in cooperation with the EU, through agreements on how this will be achieved for both the emissions trading sector and the non-emissions trading sector. For the emissions trading sector, which includes the petroleum industry, the most important instrument is the EU Emissions Trading System (EU ETS).

The Norwegian government intensified the climate goals as defined by the Hurdal platform, calling for a 55 percent reduction in GHG emissions by 2030, compared to 1990 levels. This commitment applies to the entire economy, including the emissions trading sector. As part of the consideration of temporary changes to the petroleum tax system, the Norwegian parliament requested that the petroleum industry reduce its greenhouse gas emissions on the NCS by at least 50 percent by 2030.

To stimulate further reductions in greenhouse gas emissions in the petroleum sector, the Norwegian parliament passed a Climate Plan in spring 2021, which proposed an increase in the CO₂ tax on emissions from oil and gas production subject to the ETS in line with the tax increase on non-emission trading emissions. The goal is for the total carbon cost (CO₂ tax + quota cost) to be approximately NOK 2,000 per tonne of CO₂ by 2030 (estimated in fixed 2020 NOK). The Climate Plan further stipulates that the total carbon cost should not exceed NOK 2,000 during the period from 2021 to 2030 unless the quota price alone becomes higher.

Through the European Green Deal, the EU has committed to an emissions reduction of at least 55 percent by 2030 and to being climate-neutral by 2050. The EU's Green Deal and the "Fit-for-55" package will lead to changes in laws and regulations enabling these climate goals to be reached. Additionally, the EU has launched a series of measures designed to stop oil and gas imports from Russia.

In light of major geopolitical changes, the European Commission has prioritised security and increased competitiveness for the 2024–2029 period, while maintaining its commitment to an ambitious climate policy. This will present significant challenges and will shape the EU’s efforts to establish climate targets for 2040. Under the Paris Agreement, countries are required to update their Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) every five years. As part of this process, the EU and Norway will submit their updated climate targets for 2035 to the UN.

GREENHOUSE GAS EMISSIONS FROM THE NCS

Emissions to air from Norwegian oil and gas production are reported by several sources. However, both the reported figures and the development trends from year to year can vary significantly depending on the source. There are several reasons for this, but the most important is the differing definitions of which activities are included in the Norwegian oil and gas industry.

The climate and environmental report from Offshore Norge is published annually in June and contains total emission figures from the industry. Which emissions to include are based on the definitions in the Petroleum Tax Act. These cover all exploration and production activities on the NCS, including emissions associated with pipeline transport of oil and gas, even if these may occur at onshore facilities such as Kårstø and Kollsnes. All activities at Melkøya are also included. Data is retrieved from the Collabor8 Footprint database, which has been developed to simplify the reporting of emission figures and the submission of annual emission reports from operators to the government.
Statistics Norway (SSB) publishes preliminary total figures for the entire industry in May, followed by emissions broken down by various sources in oil and gas production in December. The figures are reported to the UN under the UN Climate Convention on Climate Change and the Convention on Long-Range Transboundary Air Pollution. The emission figures differ from those reported via Footprint to the NEA by including more land-based activities. This includes the Kårstø gas plant. Consequently, the emission figures from Statistics Norway (SSB) will normally be higher than the corresponding Footprint figures, while figures from most emission sources are generally comparable. The emission figures from SSB also form the basis for the website Miljøstatus.no.
The NEA has its own database for Norwegian emissions (norskeutslipp.no) which is accessible to the public and contains emission data from all Norwegian sources, including oil and gas production. Generally, these are the same emission figures found in Footprint. However, the main category "Offshore Petroleum Activities" does not include onshore facilities or exploration activities. Therefore, the total figures for the industry will be lower than the corresponding figures reported in the Environmental Report and by the SSB.

In addition, there are also emission figures from the quota-liable part of the activities on the NCS and from the tax-liable part of Norwegian oil and gas production. Both of these have different delimitations in relation to each other and in relation to the three sources described above. Both the total figures and figures from various sources will therefore vary.

Greenhouse gas emissions from petroleum activities

Figure 21 shows that total greenhouse gas emissions from the NCS and onshore facilities subject to the Petroleum Tax Act in 2024 were 10.6 million tonnes of CO₂equivalent, a decrease of approx. 4.5 percent from 2023. Despite high production in recent years and a new annual record for gas production in 2024, emissions on the Norwegian shelf continue to fall. The decrease from 2023 is partly linked to the electrification of Troll Vest, Sleipner and Gina Krog with onshore power. Methane emissions also continued to decrease from 2023 to 2024.

Figure 21: Emissions of CO₂ equivalent on the NCS

Emissions of greenhouse gases per produced unit are low for Norwegian oil and gas production compared to production in other areas, as shown in the data in Figure 22 from the International Association of Oil and Gas Producers (IOGP). Other studies from, among others, Rystad Energy, confirm this ratio between emissions on the Norwegian shelf and emissions from other regions.

Figure 22: Greenhouse gas emissions per produced unit in various petroleum provinces 2003–2023 (Source: IOGP)

CO₂ emissions

In 2024, direct CO₂ emissions from operations on the NCS and onshore facilities subject to the Petroleum Tax Law were 10.3 million tonnes, down from 10.7 million tonnes in 2023 (see Figure 23).

Figure 23.1: Historical development of direct CO₂ emissions (millions of tonnes and source distribution in 2024)

Figure 23.2: Historical development of direct CO₂ emissions (millions of tonnes and source distribution in 2024)

Figure 24: Volumes of gas flared per produced tonne o.e. on the NCS,
compared to the international average

Figure 24 shows the historical development of flared gas volumes (kg) per produced unit (tonne) of oil equivalent in Norway and the international average (IOGP) for the period 2006–2023. Low emissions from flaring are a significant reason why Norwegian production has much lower CO₂ emissions than other countries. In 2023, volumes of flare gas were ten times higher globally than in Norway. Figure 25 shows the historical development of direct CO₂ emissions from the three primary sources, where flaring has been the smallest source of the three since 2019.

Norwegian greenhouse gas emissions in 2024 totalled 46.7 million tonnes CO₂e, of which the petroleum industry's share accounted for about one-quarter, according to Statistics Norway (SSB).

Figure 25: Historical development of direct CO₂emissions (tonnes) from the three primary sources.

Figure 26: CO₂ emissions intensity for the period 2003–2024

Norwegian oil and gas production has for many years been, and continue to be, world-leading in low greenhouse gas emissions. The average greenhouse gas emissions per produced unit are less than half of the global average. The sector is subject to a range of measures such as CO₂ tax, EU ETS, NOx tax/fund, flaring restrictions in production licences, emission permits with energy management requirements, and mandates for the use of best available technology (BAT). Additionally, there are requirements for assessing onshore power in connection with new developments. Together with a robust resource and recovery policy, these regulatory measures have triggered and will continue to trigger actions that represent emission reductions on the NCS.

Prolonged and increased production on existing fields will normally increase energy consumption per produced unit. It is therefore a significant achievement that the NCS has succeeded in maintaining low emissions per produced unit even as the age of the fields has increased.

The result is a Norwegian offshore industry that ranks among the best internationally in terms of low CO₂ emissions per produced unit, as shown in Figure 22. At the same time, we see that some other countries are gradually demonstrating clear emission improvements by implementing operational practices similar to those we have on the NCS, such as reduced flaring. This is very positive. Reduced flaring not only lowers CO₂ emissions but also boosts energy supplies for the market, as the gas is sold rather than flared.

Figure 26 shows the historical development of CO₂ emissions per delivered volume of hydrocarbons. In 2024, the specific CO₂ emission was 6.7 kg per barrel of oil equivalent produced (marketable). This is down from 7.3 in 2023. The reduction is partly due to the fact that several installations received power from shore in 2024.

Short-lived climate forcers

Short-lived climate forcers consist of particles and gases with a short lifespan in the atmosphere and are characterised by their negative effects on climate and human health. If emissions of short-lived climate forcers can be reduced, both climate and health benefits will be achieved. In the offshore petroleum industry, emissions of methane (CH₄) from cold venting and fugitive emissions are the main sources of emissions.

Methane emissions

The primary sources of methane emissions from offshore oil and gas activities are 1) planned or unplanned emissions directly to the atmosphere, 2) incomplete combustion in flares and turbines, and 3) emissions during the storage and loading of crude oil. Annual methane emissions are reported according to methods and emission factors established by the Norwegian Environment Agency and the industry in collaboration. The petroleum industry is continuously working to improve the methodology and emission factors for methane and nmVOC. The use of equipment for direct measurement of methane emissions is essential in improving the quality of reported data. To detect leaks from processing equipment, dedicated leak detection programmes (Leak Detection and Repair, LDAR) are conducted, utilising handheld infrared cameras, among other tools. The use of cameras (Optical Gas Imaging) enables quick implementation of measures to reduce or eliminate emissions associated with minor leaks.

Figure 27 shows methane (CH₄) emissions from activities on the NCS in 2024, categorised by source. Total methane emissions in 2024 were 10,871 tonnes, compared to 11,579 tonnes in 2023. This is a decrease despite increased gas production. Fugitive emissions and cold ventilation made up 64 percent of emissions in 2024, compared to only 5 percent from minor leaks. The significant reduction from 2014–2015 to 2016 is primarily due to much more detailed monitoring of individual emission sources combined with a revision of emission factors.

Methane emissions associated with gas exports to Europe

Natural gas produced on the NCS is primarily exported to Europe, where it is used in households, industry, and gas-fired power plants. Natural gas is composed mainly of methane, which is a highly potent greenhouse gas.

Methane intensity on the NCS was 0.01 percent in 2024 (emissions per unit of gas sold). In comparison, twelve of the world’s largest oil and gas companies, through the Oil and Gas Climate Initiative (OGCI), reported a combined average methane intensity of 0.14 percent for 2023.

The reasons for the low methane concentration of Norwegian natural gas include subsea gas export pipelines, a ban on routine flaring, high taxation levels, and a strong focus on minimising gas leaks for both climate and safety reasons. In its 2025 overview of global methane emissions, the IEA states that if all countries were to reduce their methane emissions to Norway’s level, global emissions from oil and gas production would decline by more than 90 percent.

Figure 27.1: Historical development of total CH4 emissions (tonnes) and distribution by source in 2024

Figure 27.2: Historical development of total CH₄ emissions (tonnes) and distribution by source in 2024

6.3 Emissions of nmVOC

NmVOCs are volatile organic compounds that can indirectly contribute to climate impact through the formation of tropospheric ozone. In 2024, the total nmVOC emissions from the NCS were 21,289 tonnes. This represents a decrease compared to 2023, when emissions were 23,253 tonnes, as shown in Figure 28.

Figure 28.1: Historical development of total nmVOC emissions (tonnes) and distribution by source.

Figure 28.2: Historical development of total nmVOC emissions (tonnes) and distribution by source.

Since 2001, total nmVOC emissions have been reduced by almost 91 percent. A significant reduction in emissions has been achieved through investments in new facilities for the removal and recovery of oil vapour on storage ships and crude oil shuttle tankers. In recent years, the collaboration between the NEA and the industry on methane and nmVOC has also resulted in significant emissions reductions.

6.4 Emissions of NOx

The primary source of NOx emissions on the NCS comes from the combustion of natural gas and diesel for energy production on the installations. Additionally, diesel-powered engines on mobile rigs are a significant source of NOx emissions. These mobile rigs are used for both exploration drilling and production drilling.

The environmental agreement on the reduction of NOx emissions (The NOx agreement) regulates the obligations of business sectors towards the authorities to reduce their total NOx emissions. Norway met its NOx obligations under the Gothenburg Protocol well before 2020, and efforts to reduce NOx emissions through the NOx Fund have been crucial in fulfilling this obligation. The importance of the NOx Fund for emission reductions is described below.

NOx emissions have been significantly reduced through measures initiated by the NOx Fund. The NOx agreement for the period 2018–2025 was approved by the ESA in 2018 and has now been extended to 2027.

In 2024, total NOx emissions from petroleum activities amounted to 32,617 tonnes. This is a decrease from 2023, when emissions were 33,691 tonnes. The reduction is due to a general decrease in combustion in turbines.

Figure 29 shows NOx emissions from activities on the NCS and their distribution across sources in 2024.

Figure 29.1: Historical development of total NOX emissions (tonnes) and distribution by source.

Figure 29.2: Historical development of total NOX emissions (tonnes) and distribution by source

6.5 The NOx Fund and its significance for emission reductions

The NOx agreement is an environmental agreement between businesses and Norwegian authorities, which involves businesses committing to keep total NOx emissions below established emission caps. The NOx agreement has been a successful instrument since 2008. The fund is an important contributor to a cost-effective energy transition, emissions reductions, and improved energy efficiency in the oil and gas sector, onshore industry, shipping, and the fishing fleet. The projects often reduce both CO₂ and NOx emissions.

Companies participating in the NOx Agreement are exempt from the NOx tax. Instead, businesses contribute to the fund based on a payment model linked to reported emission figures, with rates somewhat lower than the financial tax. The NOx Fund uses the contributions to support businesses that implement measures to reduce their NOx emissions. Support from the NOx Fund is disbursed when the measure has been implemented and documented. Funding can also be requested for certain types of industries that are exempt from the financial tax.

The NOx Agreement between the government and industry expires in 2027 and should be extended for the 2028–2030 period as an effective tool for reducing the industry's greenhouse gas emissions and pollution, and for maintaining its competitiveness. The NOx Fund has contributed — and will continue to contribute — to the scaling up of cost-effective zero and low-emission solutions offshore and onshore, both independently and in collaboration with other policy instruments. A final agreement for the 2028–2030 period could realise the full potential of the scheme, at a time when Norwegian industry, the climate, and the environment need it most. Projects supported by the NOx Fund have a high realisation rate.

To date, more than 1,500 projects have been completed, contributing to the achievement of all NOx emission reduction targets. In addition, annual CO₂ emissions have been reduced by approximately 2 million tonnes. The business sector as a whole is well positioned to maintain this momentum through to 2030 and to make a significant contribution towards achieving national emission targets. The NOx Fund’s support scheme has, as one example of its broader ripple effects, stimulated investments totalling approximately NOK 11 billion in Norwegian shipyards.

Examples of measures in the petroleum industry that have received support from the NOx Fund:

Hywind Tampen
Partial electrification of Gullfaks and Snorre with 11 floating offshore wind turbines. Production started in November 2022, cutting approximately 200,000 tonnes of CO₂ and 1,100 tonnes of NOx annually.
Electrification of platforms with power from shore: Troll B and C, Sleipner Vest, Draugen, Oseberg, Njord
Drilling rigs installing catalytic NOx reduction, battery technology, and other energy efficiency measures.

6.6 SOx emissions

Figure 31 shows SOx emissions from operations on the NCS and the distribution of emissions in 2024 based on source. In 2024, SOx emissions totalled 411 tonnes, a reduction from 479 tonnes in 2023.

Figure 31.1: Historical SOx emissions from the NCS, broken down by source.

Figure 31.2: Historical SOx emissions from the NCS, broken down by source.

Offshore Norge – Climate and Environmental Report 2025