Continued activity in the Barents Sea benefits both Norwegian and European interests, Terje Aasland said in an interview with Reuters ahead of an oil fair in Stavanger, Norway.
EU countries have agreed on a moratorium, or temporary ban, on oil drilling in the Arctic. However, the issue is up for debate again ahead of this autumn's new EU strategy for the Arctic.
The red-green Socialist Left Party (SV), which has supported the government on budget issues in the Storting, reacted strongly to Aasland's statements.
"There are no limits to the government's oil zeal. They have no scruples," SV environmental policy spokesman Lars Haltbrekken told the Norwegian news agency NTB.
