Norway Looks to Overturn Court Ruling Against Three Oilfield Approvals

On Wednesday, the Norwegian government asked an appeals court to overturn a lower court ruling that said that the approval of three oilfields offshore Norway was unlawful as the assessment did not consider the environmental impact of the petroleum from these fields.

Early this year, the Oslo District Court ruled that the government’s approval of three new oil and gas fields, Breidablikk, Yggdrasil, and Tyrving, all in the North Sea, was invalid as it failed to take into account the emissions from burning the petroleum from these fields’ production.

The case was brought by Greenpeace Nordic and Natur og Ungdom (Young Friends of the Earth Norway). In January, the Oslo court agreed with the plaintiffs that Norway had violated the fundamental rights of Norwegian citizens by greenlighting the plans for the fields but failing to include Scope 3 emissions in the Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA).

The Norwegian government appealed the ruling and is due to present its argument at the Borgarting Court of Appeal in hearings beginning on Wednesday.

In March, the appeals court put the injunction against the oilfield developments on hold. Hearings in the trial beginning on Wednesday will continue until September 12.

At the end of the hearings, the appeals court must rule whether the injunction should be permanently lifted or reinstated, until a final ruling on whether the approval of the oilfields was lawful or not. A final judgment could be months or years away.

Two of the three fields are already producing oil.

Production from the Breidablikk, operated by Equinor, started in October 2023, four months ahead of schedule. Eight wells at Breidablikk have already been drilled, and the drilling of additional wells will continue on the field until the end of 2025.

On Tuesday, Norwegian oil and gas firm Aker BP announced the start of oil production from the Tyrving development. Aker BP is also the operator of the Yggdrasil development which is currently expected to start production in 2027.

By Tsvetana Paraskova for Oilprice.com

More Top Reads From Oilprice.com

• Could Libya’s Huge Oil Shutdown Last For Months?
• Understanding Peak Oil: What It Is And Why It Matters
• ExxonMobil's Guyana Oil: A Trillion-Dollar Opportunity?