Norway’s Socialist Left party (SV) seems to finally have attracted enough support from its government coalition partner, Labour, to forcefully oppose state-controlled oil company Statoil’s controversial oil sands operations in Canada.
Norwegian Broadcasting (NRK) polled half of Labour’s 64 Members of Parliament and found that 12 are willing to urge the government to instruct Statoil to withdraw from the oil sands project in northern Alberta. They argue the project is environmentally objectionable and contributes to higher carbon emissions at a time when the government is supposed to be cutting emissions.
The 12 Labour MPs are working on a proposal that will be presented at the party’s national meeting next year. SV was jubilant, after raising objections to the oil sands project for years.
Statoil, meanwhile, announced an order this week for a new “super rig” from Norwegian offshore firm Aker Solutions. The rig, valued at NOK 11 billion (USD 1.9 billion), offers new technology that can reduce the costs of oil extraction by 40 percent in existing wells. Statoil executive Margareth Øvrum said the technology could boost oil production by an extra 180 million barrels.
Views and News staff
