Norway's cutbacks only a minor obstacle.

Norway recently deferred 12 oil field developments and reduced oil exports as part of a plan to buoy crude prices, but these will not hold back a production boom for long.

This is the view of Wood Mackenzie Consultants Ltd., Edinburgh, which said the cutbacks will be only a superficial wound for Norway's oil industry, rather than inflicting any lasting damage.

"Norway has enjoyed six consecutive years of strong economic growth," said Wood Mackenzie, "and there has been a significant rise in oil and gas investment levels over the last 2 years. However, the economy is showing signs of overheating, and the government has now decided to delay a number of oil and gas developments in an attempt to help cool the economy.

"In addition to these forced delays, a number of new fields that should have contributed significantly to Norwegian production in 1998 have suffered development delays or reduced output due to problems during the start-up phase."

Wood Mackenzie said some production will be lost this year because of development delays caused by overambitious time and cost …