No New Development Plans for Norway Oil Firms

Oil companies on Norway's continental shelf are unlikely to present any development plans for new oilfields this year, a sharp revision from previous expectations, the head of the country's Petroleum Directorate (NPD) said on Tuesday.

"We don't expect to receive any plans before the end of the year," NPD chief Bente Nyland told Reuters. "For the time being, most plans seem to be delayed."

At the start of the year the NPD predicted that oil firms would present 13 new field development plans during 2014/2015, and in June Nyland said she was expecting several plans to be presented during the autumn.

The delays in oilfield developments will not have an immediate effect on output from Norway, but may affect production closer to 2020, she added.

Reporting by Joachim Dagenborg