Iceland government will not ban oil exploration, PM says
Tuesday 13th October 2026 on 18:45 in
Iceland
Iceland’s government does not plan to ban oil exploration in the country’s jurisdiction, and would not respond with hostility to investors interested in further research, Prime Minister Kristrún Frostadóttir said, according to mbl.is.
Frostadóttir made the comments in response to a question from Centre Party leader Sigmundur Davíð Gunnlaugsson during an unscheduled question session in parliament on Tuesday.
Gunnlaugsson raised the possibility of oil and gas production on Iceland’s continental shelf, saying a recent assessment by the Iceland Chamber of Commerce indicated that such activity could bring substantial benefits. He said investors were again showing interest in exploration, but voiced concern that the government might discourage them without formally banning research.
He asked whether the government would stand in the way of serious exploration and possible future oil and gas production. He said investors would need clarity on the government’s position before committing to costly projects.
Frostadóttir said a minister from the Independence Party in the previous government had introduced a bill to ban oil exploration, but that the current government had not done so and did not intend to. She cited decades of research in the Dreki area, an offshore region, which indicated a low likelihood of finding oil or gas in commercially recoverable quantities. However, she said those findings did not amount to a ban on further research. Investors who believed they could reach a different conclusion would need to make a formal approach to the government.
Gunnlaugsson said existing research pointed to possible resources and argued that investors would not proceed if they faced government opposition. He asked whether companies with a genuine interest in research would be welcomed.
In her final response, Frostadóttir reiterated that the government would not ban oil exploration and said it was not hostile to the issue. She noted that no exploration well had been drilled in the Dreki area.