Norway parliament gives more tax relief to oil firms

OSLO, Norway’s parliament has agreed to give additional tax breaks to the oil industry on top of those proposed by the minority government in a bid to spur investment and protect jobs, news agency NTB reported on Monday.

Equinor and other oil firms, hit by low crude prices as demand faltered amid the COVID-19 pandemic, had argued the government’s plan to postpone tax payments of 100 billion Norwegian crowns ($10.8 billion) was insufficient.

A news conference on the topic is scheduled for 1330 GMT, the governing Conservative Party said a statement, without elaborating. ($1 = 9.2474 Norwegian crowns) (Reporting by Nerijus Adomaitis, editing by Terje Solsvik and Victoria Klesty)