Expected significant increase in payment rates

In 2023, the payment rates for the NOx Fund are 17 NOK per kilogram NOx emission for petroleum activities on the continental shelf and 11 NOK per kilogram NOx for other activities covered by the NOx tax. To meet the demanding emissions reduction goals of the NOx Agreement, it will be necessary to increase the payment rates in the forthcoming years to finance the NOx Fund's support programs. This will be particularly noticeable in the last two years of the Agreement period (2026 and 2027), where the high and low rates may be increased to 25 and 19 NOK per kilogram of NOx, respectively. Until then, there will be only minor annual increases of 0.50 to 1 NOK per kilogram of NOx emissions.

For comparison, the NOx tax for 2024 is proposed in the state budget at 25.50 NOK per kilogram, and it is assumed that the public tax will be around 30 kroner in 2027.

The increase is necessary to finance the support programs of the NOx Fund. The intention is also, by deferring most of the increase to future years, to provide companies with stronger incentives for emission reducing measures within the scope of the NOx Agreement, while making it realistically feasible to implement these measures in time.

The exact payment rates are still subject to annual clarifications by the NOx Fund's board (rates for 2024 will be determined on December 12th). The purpose of this news article is to inform our affiliated companies about an expected development, so they can decide in a timely manner how to respond to the change.