Norway Oil Lobby: 2016-2017 Investments to Fall

Norwegian oil and gas investments will fall sharply in the next two years as low crude prices lead oil firms to cut back on spending, the Norwegian Oil and Gas Association, the industry's lobby group, said on Wednesday.

2016 investments are expected to fall to 149 billion crowns next year from 185 billion crowns in 2015, and will hit a seven-year low of 132 billion in 2017 before rebounding in 2018 and 2019, it estimated.

The estimates were made in 2015 crowns.

In November of last year the lobby had anticipated that oil and gas investments, as measured in 2014 crowns, would stay in a range from 190 billion to 205 billion crowns in the years from 2016 to 2019.

Reporting by Gwladys Fouche