Norway's oil production is expected to rise by 6.9% this year as the giant Johan Sverdrup field ramps up output while gas volumes are predicted to stay unchanged at near-record levels, the Norwegian Petroleum Directorate (NPD) said on Monday.

Norway has since last year overtaken Russia as Europe's biggest gas supplier, with Equinor the top exporter, after Russia's Gazprom cut off much of the gas on which Europe previously depended.

The combined volume of oil and gas is expected to rise to 4.12 million barrels of oil equivalent per day (boed) in 2023, up from a preliminary 3.99 million boed last year, the NPD's forecast showed. (Reporting by Nerijus Adomaitis, editing by Terje Solsvik)