OSLO (Reuters) - Norway's leftist finance minister said the government was not considering cutting oil production for environmental concerns, although she wanted a debate on how quickly more acreage should be opened up for exploration after 2009.
Earlier on Tuesday, Finance Minister Kristen Halvorsen was quoted by Norwegian tabloid VG as saying that a future climate agreement could push up taxes on oil production or, in the worst case scenario, prohibit production.
By Wojciech Moskwa
OSLO (Reuters) - Norway's leftist finance minister said the government was not considering cutting oil production for environmental concerns, although she wanted a debate on how quickly more acreage should be opened up for exploration after 2009.
Earlier on Tuesday, Finance Minister Kristen Halvorsen was quoted by Norwegian tabloid VG as saying that a future climate agreement could push up taxes on oil production or, in the worst case scenario, prohibit production.
Her spokesman said Halverson, the leader of leftist party with an ambitious climate agenda, did not say that oil output would or should be banned on environmental grounds.
!ADVERTISEMENT!In a statement clarifying Halvorsen's comments, the finance ministry said: "Neither did she say that the government has plans to reduce the pace of production in the petroleum sector."
"There is nothing in the government (program) declaration about a reduction in the pace of production," and Halvorsen said it was not an problematic issue, the ministry said.
"On the other hand, Halvorsen is open for debate about the pace of exploration of new areas and said that could be a topic for negotiations on a new government platform (beyond 2009)."
With political and regulatory stability unseen in much of the oil-rich world, Norway is the world's fifth-largest oil exporter, pumping roughly 2.4 million barrels per day. It is also western Europe's top exporter of natural gas.
Halvorsen's Socialist Left (SV) party has been losing supporters to the more moderate Labor party of Prime Minister Jens Stoltenberg.
CLIMATE PRIORITY
The SV, in power for the first time, has long advocated greener policy, even at the cost of economic growth.
Top-selling VG also quoted Halvorsen as saying from Bali, Indonesia, where she is attending a U.N. conference on counteracting climate change, that a deal to cut emissions of greenhouse gasses may reduce the value of Norway's oil deposits.
"We will have to make new forecasts for how much our oil and gas resources are worth with a new climate treaty because this will have impact on the Norwegian economy," Halverson told VG.
"If a (new) tax is put on oil, the oil will become worth less compared to, for instance, energy from renewable sources. The same will happen if the (carbon emissions) quota regime is tightened," she said.
VG cited an excerpt from a Halvorsen speech in Bali as saying: "We feel that it is in our clear interest to battle climate change, even if this can have consequences for our income from oil exports."
When asked about this comment, she told VG: "As a nation we're more dependent on succeeding with stopping global climate change than succeeding by pumping up all the oil."
"It's very short-sighted as an oil nation to believe that one is an island in the world, while sea levels are rising due to climate change. You cannot disengage from the world."
(Additional reporting by Terje Solsvik; editing by James Jukwey)
