Sam Bowers

European Hydrocarbon Reserves and Extraction Policy

Where western Europe's oil and gas lies — and what governments permit

Data: 2024–2025

12 countries

Bubble size proportional to total proven and potential hydrocarbon reserves (oil and gas combined, billion barrels of oil equivalent). Colour shows extraction policy stance. Cyprus and Greece figures include unconfirmed potential reserves not yet in production.

Key findings

  • Norway holds an estimated 60% of western European proven hydrocarbon reserves and continues annual North Sea and Barents Sea licensing rounds with no extraction limits
  • The Netherlands permanently closed Groningen — once Europe's largest gas field — in October 2024 after decades of induced seismic damage affecting over 100,000 homes
  • The United Kingdom halted new North Sea licences in 2024; France banned all new hydrocarbon exploration permits in 2018 and has since published Europe's first fuel-by-fuel phase-out timetable
  • Romania's Neptun Deep (Black Sea), approved after a decade of regulatory delays, is the most significant new European extraction project outside Norway; Cyprus's Aphrodite field remains in a development limbo shaped by Turkey's disputed maritime boundary claims

01 / Reserves and policy by country

Norway dominates. Policy divergence between neighbours is sharp.

Active expansionActiveRestrictedPhasing outNew permits banned
40°N50°N60°N70°N North Sea Baltic Sea Mediterranean Sea Barents Sea Black Sea NorwayUKNLDenmarkGermanyFranceAustriaItalyCroatiaRomaniaGreeceCyprus

Sources: Norwegian Petroleum Directorate · UK North Sea Transition Authority · BP Statistical Review of World Energy 2022 · OPEC Annual Statistical Bulletin 2025 · IEA Gas Market Report Q2 2025

02 / Country detail — sorted by total reserves

Norway's reserves exceed the combined total of every other country shown.

Oil in billion barrels (Gbbl); gas in billion cubic metres (bcm). Bar scale relative to Norway in each column. † Denotes unconfirmed or disputed reserves.

OIL (GBBL) GAS (BCM) POLICY Norway 13.00 1,430 Active expansion United Kingdom 2.50 180 No new licences Netherlands 0.15 290 Major field closed Cyprus † — 200 Development phase Romania 0.60 100 Active, expanding Italy 0.58 45 Active Denmark 0.55 44 End date: 2050 Germany 0.14 23 Active, declining Greece † 0.07 30 Exploring Croatia 0.07 25 Active France 0.10 8 New permits banned Austria 0.05 8 Active
NO Norway
Active expansion Annual licensing rounds continue with no extraction limits. Johan Sverdrup (2.7 Gbbl recoverable) produces ~755,000 barrels per day. Barents Sea exploration ongoing. Norway's Government Pension Fund Global exceeds $1.7 trillion.
UK United Kingdom
No new licences Labour government halted new North Sea exploration licences in 2024. Existing fields continue producing; 13 projects await development consent. The North Sea Transition Deal (£16B through 2030) pivots investment towards CCUS and hydrogen.
NL Netherlands
Major field closed Groningen — once Europe's largest gas field — permanently closed October 2024 after decades of induced seismic damage affecting over 100,000 homes. Smaller North Sea offshore fields operate under tightening consents.
CY Cyprus
Development phase The Aphrodite gas field (Block 12, EEZ) holds an estimated 4–6 tcf. Development has stalled repeatedly owing to disputed maritime boundaries with Turkey and commercially marginal economics. Potential export routes via pipeline to Egypt or LNG remain unresolved. † Gas reserves are estimated potential; no production to date. Figures exclude contested blocks.
RO Romania
Active, expanding Romania is the EU's second-largest gas producer. Neptun Deep (Black Sea), approved in 2023 after a decade of regulatory delays, is the most significant new European extraction project outside Norway. Operated by OMV Petrom and Romgaz.
IT Italy
Active ENI maintains onshore and offshore operations. Italy is the EU's second-largest domestic hydrocarbon producer and has resisted phase-out pressure given its import dependency. Val d'Agri in Basilicata produces approximately 50,000 barrels per day.
DK Denmark
End date: 2050 Voted to end all North Sea oil and gas production by 2050. No further licensing rounds planned after 2020. The Tyra gas field was redeveloped in 2024 with a life extension through approximately 2042.
DE Germany
Active, declining Domestic onshore production continues at modest scale, declining year on year. No phase-out target; economics-driven contraction. Mittelplate tidal-flat oil field in Schleswig-Holstein is Germany's largest active operation.
GR Greece
Exploring Exploration licences have been issued for the Ionian and Cretan basins. Reserve estimates are unconfirmed; offshore potential may be significant but faces maritime boundary disputes with Turkey that complicate development. † Gas reserves are estimated potential, not confirmed proven.
HR Croatia
Active INA (MOL Group) operates onshore Pannonian Basin and Adriatic offshore fields. Adriatic gas development subject to ongoing EU environmental review. Modest but strategically relevant domestic output.
FR France
New permits banned All new hydrocarbon exploration and production permits banned since 1 January 2018 — Europe's most comprehensive extraction ban. Existing licences expire progressively through the 2040s. France has also published the continent's first fuel-by-fuel exit roadmap (coal 2030, oil 2045, gas 2050).
AT Austria
Active OMV operates the Vienna Basin, Austria's primary producing region. Output is modest and declining; no phase-out policy has been adopted.

Sources and methodology

Oil reserve figures: OPEC Annual Statistical Bulletin 2025 and national petroleum authorities (Norwegian Petroleum Directorate, UK North Sea Transition Authority). Gas reserve figures: BP Statistical Review of World Energy 2022, supplemented by IEA Gas Market Report Q2 2025 and EEA Selected Oil and Gas Reserves dataset. Policy status reflects government announcements, legislation, and IEA Policy Database entries as of early 2025. Figures for Cyprus and Greece represent estimated potential reserves, not confirmed proven reserves; both are subject to unresolved maritime boundary disputes with Turkey.

Total reserves are expressed in billion barrels of oil equivalent (Gbbl BOE), using a conversion of 1 bcm natural gas = 0.0063 Gbbl BOE. Bubble area on the map is proportional to total Gbbl BOE; bar lengths are scaled relative to Norway's reserves in each commodity.