Norway oil, gas output beats forecast by 0.3% in August

(Adds production data, background in paragraphs 2-3) OSLO, Sept 22 (Reuters) — Norway's combined oil and gas production exceeded an official forecast by 0.3% in August, the Norwegian Offshore Directorate (NOD) said on Tuesday. Norway is Europe's largest supplier of natural gas and a major producer of oil, but output varies from month to month depending on maintenance needs and other stoppages at close to 100 offshore fields. Overall oil, condensate, natural gas liquids and gas output stood at 0.672 million standard cubic metres per day, equivalent to 4.23 million barrels of oil equivalent, a decrease of 0.7% year-on-year. (Reporting by Nora Buli, editing by Terje Solsvik) ((Louisebreusch.rasmussen@tr.com; +45 21 27 97 79;)