"We are convinced it's better to produce gas in the North Sea than buying it from Vladimir Putin," Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen of Denmark said yesterday.

Her government added that Denmark aims to significantly boost renewable energy supply and temporarily increase the production of natural gas from its fields in the North Sea.   Production from existing Danish gas fields in the North Sea could rise by as much as 25% "in the short term", Climate and Energy Minister Dan Jorgensen said, without giving further details.

Frederiksen said Denmark could effectively become independent of Russian gas next year with supplies from the North Sea. "But since we are part of the European gas network, we also need the other countries to become independent," she said.

Denmark had last year planned to reach peak gas production of 3.2 billion cubic meters (Bcm) in 2027.  The country will become a net exporter of gas next year, when the Tyra gas fields, operated by Total will resume operations following a major redevelopment that began at the end of 2019.

The government aims to increase production from land-based wind and solar power fourfold within eight years and boost offshore wind power production by between one and four gigawatts compared with current plans.