Western Europe's leading oil and gas producer, Norway, increased natural gas production in March by almost 6 percent compared to March 2021, beating forecasts by 6.3 percent, the Norwegian Petroleum Authority said.

Norwegian gas has been in high demand since last autumn, when the energy crisis in Europe led to a sharp increase in natural gas and electricity prices across the continent, Oilprice reports.

Although not a member of the EU, Norway is an ally of the EU and is on Russia's list of unfriendly countries, so in recent weeks it has been trying to maximize its gas supplies.

Three weeks after the escalation of the Ukrainian crisis, the Norwegian company Equinor said that, together with its partners and the Norwegian authorities, it would take new steps to meet the demand for gas in Europe.

The Norwegian Ministry of Petroleum and Energy has given Equinor permission to increase production and exports from the Troll, Oseberg and Heidrun gas fields during the summer months. Equinor has also decided to postpone a workover at the Oseberg field from May to September this year in order to speed up production.

Moreover, Equinor is now planning to restart the Hammerfest LNG plant after a September 2020 fire forced its closure. In January 2022, Equinor pushed back its launch date from late March to mid-May due to a spike in Omicron infections earlier this year.