OSLO, Jan 15 (Reuters) - Norwegian oil and gas investmentswill tumble this year and if oil prices stay below $60 perbarrel for an extended period, more projects could be calledoff, cutting investments further and lowering output, theNorwegian Petroleum Directorate said.
The NPD now sees investments falling 15 percent year on yearto 147 billion crowns ($19.1 billion) in 2015, well below itsprevious forecast for 180 billion crowns, and the figure wouldthen drop to 135 billion in 2017, it said in a statement onThursday.
"Total investments will decline by 21 per cent from 2014 to2017," the oil directorate said. "If the oil price should remainat USD 50-60 per barrel over time, this will result inadditional reductions in investments and exploration costs."
Norway's top oil producers include Statoil, Shell, ConocoPhillips, BP and Det norske. (Reporting by Balazs Koranyi, editing by Terje Solsvik)