Its last oil and gas tender round (the eighth) saw very little interest from energy firms, indicating a lack of long-term viability for the sector (Sperling et al. The declining productivity and economics of its oil and gas reservoirs has accelerated Denmark’s oil and gas transition. However, if adopted, this will be a temporary measure. Denmark is presently considering increasing natural gas production in order to reduce its dependence on Russia energy. While oil and gas remain important to the Danish economy, over the past 20 years, crude oil production has declined by 41 per cent and natural gas by 57 per cent, while renewable energy production has increased by around 300 per cent (Energistyrelsen 2022).

In 2020 Denmark produced around 77,000 barrels per day of crude oil equivalent in the same year the United Kingdom and Norway produced around one million and two million barrels per day, respectively (US EIA 2020). Today, Denmark is a relatively small oil producer with around 0.1 per cent of the global market (Statistical Review of World Energy 2021). Oil production peaked in 2004, and in 2018 Denmark once again became a net oil importer (Sperling et al. Denmark started producing oil and gas in 1972 and became a net exporter in 1997. The oil and gas sector in Denmark dates back to the oil embargo crisis in the early 1970s. The most recent climate commitments build on that momentum and social solidarity. There has been an effective dialogue between Danish employers, unions, and government since the 1970s on industrial and climate policy and transitioning the power sector from coal to wind. To date, Denmark is the only country with a large oil and gas sector to make such clear phase-out commitments across its entire economy. At the international level, Denmark, together with Costa Rica, launched the Beyond Oil & Gas Alliance (BOGA) in 2021, for which signatory governments set an end date for their oil and gas exploration and extraction 2. Denmark has committed to reducing its greenhouse gas emissions by 70 per cent by 2030 as opposed to the EU-wide target of 55 per cent. However, its greenhouse gas emissions reduction targets have gone above and beyond those adopted under European Climate Law 1. As a member of the European Union (EU), its frameworks for energy and climate policy are influenced by common European objectives. Contextĭenmark, with a population of roughly six million people, is showing global leadership in reducing greenhouse gas emissions and phasing out oil and gas production both at home and abroad. Denmark is committed to helping workers transition to new and well-paying jobs and supporting those regions and communities that are most impacted. A just transition is central to this transformation.

As the agreement notes: “if our children and grandchildren are to live in a world that lives up to the common obligations under the Paris Agreement, fossil fuels must be phased out … It’s not a choice we face, it is a bound task” (Nordsøen 2020, 1). With more than 55 platforms in 19 oil and gas fields in the North Sea, Denmark has cancelled all future oil and gas extraction tender rounds. In December 2020, a broad majority of parliamentary parties passed a binding law for climate-neutrality by 2050, and the planned phase out of its oil and gas sector is central to meeting these commitments. Denmark is the world’s largest oil producer to commit to ending oil and gas extraction.

Daymap macgregor