More record profits, and some losses

State oil company Statoil reported more record profits on Tuesday after another year of high oil prices and major discoveries on the Norwegian Continental Shelf. Two other big companies in which the state has ownership stakes, though, reported some large losses. Statoil remains on a roll, pumping oil revenues and profits into the state treasury [...]

Sverdrup’s name ‘taken in vain’

Johan Sverdrup, often viewed as the “father” of Norway’s parliamentary system and even its democracy, has now had an oil field named for him, but not everyone is pleased about that. Some claim his name is being used in vain, or even abused, by being associated with the oil industry. Norway’s bullish Oil & Energy [...]

Oil minister keen on more production

Ola Borten Moe has been called “the perfect minister” by some players in the oil industry, not least because of his bullishness on their business and his desire to boost Norway’s oil and gas production. After handing out dozens of new exploration licenses this week, he’s eyeing even more expansion and claims that’s not necessarily [...]

‘Exploration boom’ off Norway’s coast

Never before have so many companies won permission to search for oil and gas on the Norwegian continental shelf as they did this week, while discussion flies over whether Norway should construct a new pipeline from fields in the Barents Sea. Environmentalists dislike all the oil and gas activity and as always, Norway’s own Statoil [...]

Northern Norway sails into oil age

The northern city of Hammerfest was being called “the new Stavanger,” a reference to Norway’s oil capital, as reaction and celebration continued following Statoil’s announcement of a huge new oil discovery just 200 kilometers away. The entire northern region is believed to be on the threshold of a new “golden age” of economic development. “This [...]

New oil ‘province’ found off Norway

Extension of Norway’s lucrative oil age was further assured on Monday when state oil company Statoil announced another major oil discovery in the Barents Sea. Now the biggest question seems whether Statoil, its partners and Norwegian industry have the capacity to develop yet another oil and gas project, and other international players are expected to [...]

Statoil learns from Gullfaks trouble

Norwegian oil company Statoil claims it has “sharpened routines” and learned from the trouble it had at its Gullfaks C well in the North Sea last year. Meanwhile, a probe of the trouble found that Statoil leaders need to listen more to their employees and get better at accepting criticism. Statoil had a series of [...]

‘We’re crying with our clients’

Several top maritime lawyers who serve Norway’s shipping industry are working even longer days than usual, as miserable shipping markets wreak havoc with the finances of major shipowning companies. Some are comparing the situation to the crisis of the 1970s, when ships came out of the yards, were put straight into lay-up, and shipping fortunes [...]

Aker chose ‘The Tromsø Solution’

The northern city of Tromsø was celebrating after industrial firm Aker Solutions chose what it called “The Tromsø Solution” for its Arctic base of operations. The company’s new engineering office for offshore activity in the northern areas may employ as many as 300 persons within five years. Tromsø was chosen over such rival locations as [...]

Another government quarrel erupts

Members of Norway’s left-center government coalition are quarreling again, with cabinet minister Kristin Halvorsen now complaining about her government colleague, Oil & Energy Minister Ola Borten Moe, on Facebook. Differences over environmental policies are at the root of the conflict, and opposition leaders want Prime Minister Jens Stoltenberg to sort things out. Environmentalists see Stoltenberg, [...]

Statoil in huge gas field deals

Norwegian oil company Statoil announced Monday that it was selling off five North Sea gas fields and greatly reducing its takes in three more, in a deal valued at more than USD 1.6 billion. Statoil can use the money to help pay for development of new oil and gas fields that have priority in both [...]

Active exploration doesn’t deter Moe

New figures from Norway’s state oil directorate indicate that 2011 is shaping up as a top year for both oil exploration and discovery. That’s not stopping the country’s oil minister from promoting other controversial sources of oil and gas. Oil & Energy Minister Ola Borten Moe landed in more trouble last week when he told [...]

Norway eyes oil era for Greenland

The Arctic nation of Greenland seems on the verge of an industrial revolution that’s involving controversial oil exploration and several Norwegian players. At stake are the conflicting fortunes of fishermen, and huge environmental risk. A steady stream of Norwegian politicians and businessmen have been making their way to Greenland for months. State secretary Erik Lahnstein [...]

Norway backsliding on climate issues

Environmentalists were calling Norwegian Oil & Energy Minister Ola Borten Moe “a public relations agent” for Statoil on Friday, while industrial firm Aker reportedly may shut down its Aker Clean Carbon unit. Concerns are rising that Norway’s government and industry are backsliding on lofty promises to hinder climate change by cutting carbon emissions. Moe has [...]

Big names to propose oil field names

Oil & Energy Minister Ola Borten Moe has appointed a group of people with fairly well-known names in Norway to in turn propose names for new oil fields on the Norwegian continental shelf. Some of the earliest names assigned to Norwegian oil fields in the North Sea were simply made up, like Ekofisk and Statfjord. [...]

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