Denmark has decided to end all oil and gas offshore activities in the North Sea by 2050 and has cancelled its latest licensing round, saying the country is "putting an end to the fossil era".
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The Danish parliament voted to end the offshore gas and oil extraction that started in 1972 and made it the largest producer in the European Union.
Non EU-members Norway and Britain are larger producers.
Denmark will this year pump just over 100,000 barrels of crude oil and oil equivalents a day, according to government estimates.
That is relatively little in a global context. The UK produces about 10 times that amount while the US, the world's largest producer, pumped more than 19 million barrels of oil a day last year.
Environmental activists nevertheless hailed Denmark's move as significant as it shows the way forward in fighting climate change.
Greenpeace called it "a landmark decision toward the necessary phase-out of fossil fuels".
"This is a huge victory for the climate movement," said Helene Hagel of Greenpeace Denmark.
The agreement to end oil and gas extraction means a planned eighth licensing round and any future tenders has been cancelled and makes 2050 the last year in which to extract fossil fuels in the North Sea.
It was backed by both the left-leaning parties as well as the centre-right opposition, suggesting the policy is unlikely to be reversed.
"It is incredibly important that we now have a broad majority behind the agreement, so that there is no longer any doubt about the possibilities and conditions in the North Sea," said climate minister Dan Joergensen, a Social Democrat.
According to official figures, the move would mean an estimated total loss for Denmark of 13 billion kroner ($A2.8 billion).
The industry has earned the small Scandinavian country more than 500 billion kroner ($A110 billion) since the 1970s.
Australian Associated Press
