Offshore shipowners should expect two more lean years in terms of drilling investments on the Norwegian continental shelf (NCS) — but the “extraordinary” cost-cutting since 2014 has primed the pump for years of profitable activity, says the national oil-and-gas agency.

According to the latest update from the Norwegian Petroleum Directorate (NPD), today’s historically low investment in offshore exploration drilling on the NCS is set to fall further this year and next before rising from 2019.

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