IEA head urges EU to reconsider opposition to new Arctic oil drilling

By Kate Abnett

BRUSSELS, July 10 (Reuters) - The head of the International Energy Agency has urged the EU to reexamine its opposition to new oil and gas exploration in the Arctic, as Europe seeks to secure its future energy supplies.

The European Union currently supports a ban on new drilling in the Arctic on environmental grounds but is considering revising its policy in response to concerns about energy security.

The bloc already faces calls from Norway - large parts of whose land and sea is located in the Arctic - to drop its support for a moratorium on new Arctic oil and gas drilling.

"I support the Commission to give a very close look at this issue, because it is extremely important for the European energy security," IEA Executive Director Fatih Birol told reporters in Brussels on Thursday.

"The world needs every drop of oil from Norway," he added, describing the country as a trusted supplier that "will not use energy as a weapon".

Norway is Europe's biggest gas supplier but not an EU member.

With many ageing gas fields, Norwegian production is set to decline in the 2030s unless companies such as Equinor make ​new discoveries outside mature areas.

Norwegian Finance Minister Jens Stoltenberg told reporters at the same event in Brussels that the Iran war's upheaval to energy markets underscored the need for Norway to maintain production levels.

"Of course, there are environmental concerns that we have to take into account, and Norway is doing that," he said.

"But to say no, there should be no oil and gas exploration in the Arctic doesn't make sense for Norway."

Europe is phasing out oil and gas imports from former top gas supplier Russia by late 2027, and attempting to replace them with a mix of renewable energy and fossil fuels from trusted suppliers. The continent has faced soaring energy costs this year as the Iran war up-ended global oil and gas markets.

Opponents to the EU lifting its ban 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.

(Reporting by Kate Abnett; Editing by Susan Fenton)