OSLO
Norway cannot be a sufficient alternative to Europe in case of a possible cut in gas supplies from Russia, Norway's Energy Minister has said.
According to Aftenposten newspaper, Norwegian Energy Minister Tord Lien sent a letter to European Union officials saying that Norwegian gas will not be an adequate source for Europe if Russia cuts off gas supplies.
There was no way to expand production capacity and to try to do so would overload the system, Lien said in the letter.
EU officials asked Norway, the second gas supplier of Europe after Russia, to report on its possible contribution to European gas flow in early July.
Norway and the EU discussed over the supply capacity of Norway in the case of a gas crisis of Europe during an energy conference on September 25.
Norway's natural gas production forecast for next year is 105 billion cubic meters (bcm) and 106 bcm for 2014.
www.aa.com.tr/en
