EU to keep opposing new Arctic oil drilling, despite pressure from Norway

By Kate Abnett

BRUSSELS, Sept 21 (Reuters) - The European Union will maintain its opposition to new oil and gas drilling in the Arctic, a European Commission spokesperson said on Monday, despite Norwegian pressure to drop the EU ban.

The EU currently supports a ban on new drilling in the Arctic, over environmental concerns, including the risk posed to sensitive Arctic ecosystems by industrial activities and pollution. 

It is facing calls from Norway to change this stance in an upcoming revision of the EU's policy on the Arctic.

"The EU remains committed to the approach set out in the 2021 Joint Communication on the EU Arctic Policy," a spokesperson for the European Commission told Reuters on Monday, adding that work is ongoing on the revised policy.

The document the spokesperson referred to sets out the EU position: it says the bloc supports a ban on further Arctic oil and gas development and will not purchase such hydrocarbons. Norway is Europe's biggest gas supplier.

Norway, which is not an EU member, has been pushing Brussels to drop the moratorium. With many ageing fields, Norwegian production is set to decline in the 2030s unless companies such as Equinor (EQNR.OL) make ​new discoveries outside mature areas.

Norway's energy minister Terje Aasland told Reuters last month that the country will continue developing its oil and gas resources in the Barents Sea regardless of the EU's support, and cited an unstable geopolitical and security environment as reasons why this is in Europe's interest.

Europe is heavily reliant on imported oil and gas, and is racing to reduce that dependency after suffering two sharp energy shocks: former top gas supplier Russia slashing gas deliveries in 2022, and surging global energy prices this year as the Iran war ⁠upends global ​oil and gas markets.

Some investors and environmental campaigners have urged the EU to maintain its opposition to new Arctic drilling. They say new Arctic fossil fuel developments would take more than a decade to come online, making ​them ineffective in addressing Europe's current energy woes.

The EU is scheduled to publish its new Arctic policy on October 20.

(Reporting by Kate Abnett; Editing by Aurora Ellis)