Economic growth grinds to a halt

Norway’s booming, oil-fed economy of the past several years is showing clear signs of a slowdown, with some economists predicting that growth is “close to stopping up entirely.” No crisis is looming, they say, but unemployment levels are rising and growth is already slower than it’s been for the past 10 years. “We’re witnessing some [...]

Statoil keeps drilling in the Barents

Norwegian oil company Statoil isn’t letting the threat of higher offshore taxes interfere with its exploration program in the Barents Sea. Even though it has halted development of its biggest discovery in years, it just drilled its 100th well in the Barents and hopes to find more oil than gas. Harstad-based Rune Adolfsen, Statoil’s vice [...]

Arctic community still banks on oil

On a wide-open, windswept expanse of surprisingly lush Arctic seafront, the mayor of one of Norway’s most northerly communities eagerly points to what she sees as her area’s economic future. Kristina Hansen still believes Statoil will build a terminal here at Veidnes in her township of Honningsvåg for one of the world’s biggest oil discoveries in [...]

Stoltenberg basks under Barents sun

Prime Minister Jens Stoltenberg was welcoming dignitaries from around the world to the small northern Norwegian city of Kirkenes this week, to celebrate 20 years of Euro-Arctic cooperation in the Barents region. Now his challenge is to keep the cooperation going, at a time when the government of the region’s heavyweight, Russia, has been reverting [...]

Oil industry frets over tax, prices

Norway’s long-booming oil and gas industry suddenly seems to be facing new challenges on several fronts. A proposed tax hike for oil companies has sparked industry protests and worries industry analysts, while some investors warn that oil prices may dive, with “dramatic consequences” for Norway’s oil-based economy. The looming “tax change,” which amounts to a [...]

Stoltenberg in the spotlight at OECD

Norwegian Prime Minister Jens Stoltenberg got plenty of attention at the prestigious OECD ministerial meeting in Paris this week. Norway’s strong economy is envied by his hard-pressed colleagues in Europe, and Stoltenberg seemed to feel a need to downplay his own country’s good fortunes. He repeated, for example, statements he’s made since the global finance [...]

Executive pay ‘low’ in Norway

Statoil Chief Executive Helge Lund is among top business leaders in Norway who regularly catch criticism over their compensation packages. Multi-million-kroner salaries aren’t popular among the egalitarian-minded Norwegians, but new figures confirm that executive pay in Norway is modest, even low, compared to other countries. Lund, for example, earns around NOK 14 million (USD 2.4 [...]

Oil fund fends off more criticism

Norway’s large and powerful sovereign wealth fund known as the “Oil Fund” was the target of more tough criticism on Monday, this time from the international Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD). It claims the fund managers, led by Yngve Slyngstad, haven’t been cooperative themselves, and may have been party to human rights violations [...]

Politicians quiet after Statoil raid

While British politicians are railing against the possibility that oil company BP has participated in oil price manipulation, Norwegian politicians are mostly quiet over the prospect that Statoil of Norway has done the same. Meanwhile, the whistleblower has been identified as a small ethanol firm in Hungary. BP, Statoil, Royal Dutch Shell and Platts in [...]

Statoil risks huge fine after raid

Norwegian state oil company Statoil risks getting hit with a huge fine, possibly as much as NOK 70 billion (USD 12 billion), if a raid on its headquarters Tuesday leads to cartel charges from European regulators. The raid itself, claimed one analyst, is “one of the worst things a company can experience.” Inspectors from the [...]

Competition authorities raid Statoil

UPDATED: Officials from the European Free Trade Association’s surveillance authority raided the headquarters offices of Norwegian state oil company Statoil in Stavanger on Tuesday, with the help of Norway’s own competition authorities (Konkurransetilsynet). The raid stems from suspicions that Statoil and other companies have struck deals that hinder competition and abuse dominant market positions. Jannik [...]

Finance minister ‘on steady course’

Norway’s left-center government coalition aims to keep the country’s strong economy on what Finance Minister Sigbjørn Johnsen called “a steady course” when he released the government’s revised state budget on Tuesday. Opposition politicians claim he’s spreading Norway’s wealth much too thinly. “Careful economic management is critical to secure good development in the Norwegian economy,” Johnsen [...]

Gas leak forced refinery evacuation

More than 300 people were evacuated on Tuesday from Norway’s biggest oil refinery at Mongstad on the west coast, after Statoil officials discovered a gas leak. The leak was quickly stopped and operations were back to normal by 3pm. The leak was discovered around 12:45pm and a Statoil spokesman said that “any leak of gas [...]

Oil fund questions oil giant’s ethics

The state-appointed ethics council that oversees investments made by Norway’s huge oil-fueled sovereign wealth fund is questioning whether operations by US oil giant ExxonMobil in Equatorial Guinea violate “fundamental ethical norms.” If so, the fund may need to sell off its ExxonMobil stock. The council is charged with evaluating investments in individual companies in which [...]

Government steps on the gas

Oil & Energy Minister Ola Borten Moe remains as bullish as ever in his drive to step up oil and gas exploration and production in Norway’s Arctic areas. Despite low gas prices and opposition from both industry professionals and environmentalists, Moe and his government colleagues are poised to open up Norway’s newly defined southeastern portion [...]

Next Page »