EU to import more gas from Norway

The European Union reached an agreement with Norway to source more natural gas from the Nordic nation.

“Given the high production levels seen in Norway in the first months of the year - a trend that is anticipated to continue for the rest of the year -- there is strong potential for increased sales to Europe in 2022,” the EU and Norway said in a joint statement on Thursday.

Energy security is at the top of the EU’s political agenda, with the region’s leaders expected to discuss the issue at a summit in Brussels on Friday. The supply woes have pushed gas and power prices to record levels, fueling inflation, Bloomberg reported.

Norway, the bloc’s second-biggest supplier, is pumping at full tilt, benefiting from record prices and demand for its fuel. The EU aims to curb imports from Moscow by almost two-thirds this year and phase out Russian fossil fuels by 2027.

In the statement, the EU and Norway said that their agreement would bring close to 100 terrawatt hours of extra energy to the European market.