Norway's natural gas output fell in February and lagged an official forecast, while crude oil production exceeded expectations, the Norwegian Offshore Directorate (NOD) said on Wednesday.

Natural gas production in February fell to 357.7 million cubic metres (mcm) per day from 379.3 mcm in January, and missed a forecast of 367.3 mcm by 2.6%, the regulator said on its website.

Crude oil output was steady at 1.83 million barrels per day (bpd) in February compared with 1.83 million bpd in January, and 3% above a forecast of 1.78 million bpd, NOD's preliminary data showed. (Reporting by Nora Buli, editing by Terje Solsvik)