Norway's parliament, the Storting, will tomorrow discuss a proposal to increase the country's diesel and jet fuel stocks to cover 90 days of consumption, up from the current 20 days.
The parliament's energy and environment committee on 12 May requested the government "urgently establish a better system for emergency storage of diesel and aviation gasoline in Norway, which ensures security of supply in all parts of the country for 90 days". It also asked the government to "consider measures to secure the production of diesel in Norway", with an autumn deadline for government proposals.
The topic was sparked by a report from the Norwegian Defence Research Institute in March, which flagged that the country is dependent on imported diesel and jet fuel, and has one refinery — the 203,000 b/d Mongstad facility, run by state-controlled Equinor. The report recommended strategic fuel stocks as a priority measure.
The committee's recommendation noted Norway has "good capacity for the production of regular gasoline", but it pointed out logistics concerns, and the potential requirement for more fuel in the country's north "where nationally the greatest military activity can be expected".
Norway, as Europe's biggest oil exporter, has no stockholding obligation under its IEA membership — the only country outside North America without one.

