The International Energy Agency (IEA) CEO, Fatih Birol, has called on the European Union (EU) to reconsider its stance against Arctic oil and gas exploration as the bloc works to safeguard future energy supplies, Reuters reported.

The EU maintains its ban on Arctic drilling for environmental reasons but is weighing a policy shift amid mounting energy security concerns.

Norway, much of whose territory lies within the Arctic, is pressing the bloc to abandon its backing for a moratorium on new oil and gas drilling in the region.

“I support the Commission to give a very close look at this issue, ​because it is extremely important for European energy security,” Birol ​told media in Brussels.

“The world needs every drop of oil from Norway,” he added, describing the country as a trusted supplier that “will not use energy as a weapon”.

Norway is Europe’s biggest ​supplier of gas; however, it is not a member of the EU.

With many fields nearing depletion, Norwegian gas production is expected to fall in the 2030s unless new reserves are tapped outside mature zones.

Norway’s Finance Minister Jens Stoltenberg said in Brussels that the Iran war’s shock to energy markets underscores the need to keep output steady.