Norway's pipeline gas export could hit all-time highs this year, exceeding a 2017 record of 117 billion cubic meters (bcm), pipeline operator Gassco said on Wednesday.
"I think we will see it (in) that range, and I will not be surprised if it's a bit over," Gassco Chief Executive Frode Leversund told Reuters on the sidelines of an energy conference.
In 2021, Norway exported 113.2 bcm, according to Gassco data.
Equinor and other petroleum firms in Norway have sought to ramp up gas production this year as the war in Ukraine caused an energy crunch in Europe.
Norway primarily pipes its gas to receiving terminals in Britain, Germany, France, and Belgium and will later this year also open a new pipeline to Poland.
Separately, Equinor is due to reopen its Hammerfest LNG terminal on May 17. The terminal has been shut since a fire broke out in 2020.
The terminal, which can produce some 6.7 bcm, exports gas by ship rather than via pipeline, and its volumes come in addition to those handled by Gassco.
Gas prices rose by 345% year-on-year in the first quarter of 2022, Equinor said earlier, giving the company record profits for the January-March period. read more
(Reporting by Nora Buli, writing by Terje Solsvik, editing by Gwladys Fouche)