Norway oil drop less than expected in September

Oslo - Norwegian oil production slipped less than expected in September, to 1.543 million barrels per day (bpd), the country's petroleum directorate said Wednesday.

The figure was 12% higher than official forecasts, albeit down on August's tally of 1.556 million bpd, for a year-on-year rise of 4.8%.

Natural gas sales meanwhile dropped slightly to 9.3 billion cubic metres (328 billion feet) last month from 9.6 billion in August.

Norway, which is not a member of the OPEC oil producers' cartel, is the world's fifth-largest oil exporter and also the third-largest gas.

Oil and gas jointly account for around half of the Scandinavian country's exports and a quarter of GNP.

Norway is also Western Europe's most important source of natural gas, according to the European Commission.