EU Holds Firm on Arctic Drilling Ban as Norway Presses for Change

The European Union will not shift its opposition to new oil and gas drilling in the Arctic, a European Commission spokesperson said on Monday, turning aside pressure from Norway to soften the stance ahead of a policy revision.

Brussels supports a ban on further Arctic drilling on environmental grounds, citing the risks that industrial activity and pollution pose to the region's fragile ecosystems. The position is anchored in the bloc's 2021 Joint Communication on Arctic Policy, which also commits the EU to refrain from buying hydrocarbons extracted from new Arctic fields.

"The EU remains committed to the approach set out in the 2021 Joint Communication on the EU Arctic Policy," the spokesperson said, adding that work on a revised policy is still under way.

Norway, which is not an EU member, has been lobbying Brussels to abandon the moratorium in the upcoming revision. As Europe's largest gas supplier, Oslo argues that fresh Arctic production would strengthen the continent's energy security.

Norwegian production is projected to decline in the 2030s as existing fields age, unless companies such as Equinor make new discoveries outside mature areas. Energy Minister Terje Aasland said last month that Norway will keep developing its oil and gas resources in the Barents Sea regardless of whether the EU supports the move, pointing to an unstable geopolitical and security environment as grounds for why the activity serves Europe's interests.

Europe relies heavily on imported oil and gas and has been racing to reduce that dependence after two severe energy shocks: Russia, once the continent's top gas supplier, slashing deliveries in 2022, and surging global energy prices this year as the Iran war unsettles oil and gas markets.

Some investors and environmental campaigners have urged the EU to hold its ground. They contend that new Arctic fossil fuel projects would take more than a decade to begin production, making them ineffective in addressing Europe's immediate energy difficulties.

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