Environmental activists were alarmed this week, after Norway’s state auditor general’s office all but blasted Norway’s Petroleum Safety Authority (Petroleumstilsynet, PTIL) for not doing a better job. The highly critical report of the regulatory agency, which was even worse than environmental activists had expected, comes just as Norway’s Oil Ministry has granted a record number […]
Norway hands out more oil licenses
January 16, 2019
While his colleagues in Parliament were reeling over a report on poor regulation of Norway’s offshore installations, and another shows that most young Norwegians oppose more oil exploration, Norwegian Oil Minister Kjell-Børge Freiberg was busy and visibly proud to be handing out a record number of new offshore oil and gas exploration licenses in Norwegian […]
Gasoline, diesel sales dive
January 3, 2019
Sales of both gasoline (petrol) and diesel fell 28 percent last year in the western neighbourhoods of Oslo, and 16 percent in suburban Asker and Bærum. The sharp decline is linked to an even sharper rise in sales of electric cars. Electric cars of all types are driving the car market at present, and driving […]
Stock exchange takeover hailed
December 24, 2018
A constallation of several European stock exchanges called Euronext is offering to take over the Oslo Stock Exchange for NOK 6.2 billion. While its director Bente Landsnes calls the bid “surprising,” major investors seem to support it, with 49.6 percent already agreeing to sell their stakes. Svein Støle, one of the biggest investors on the […]
Climate debate will still flare in Norway
December 17, 2018
NEWS ANALYSIS: Norway nurtures an environmentally conscious image, but the country still has a long way to go in tackling its own climate challenges. Its oil and gas companies, offshore sector, farmers, airline passengers and commuters have a lot more changes to make if the country is to meet the climate goals to which it’s […]
‘Goliat’ platform in trouble again
December 12, 2018
The huge Goliat oil platform, Norway’s first in the Barents Sea, is still plagued by so many technical problems that safety regulators are warning they’ll issue an injunction to halt operations if the problems aren’t solved. The order comes just after Goliat came under new management and altered ownership this week, and as Norway must […]
Norway falls in climate rankings
December 11, 2018
Norway’s Climate and Environment Minister Ola Elvestuen was worried before he traveled to the UN’s climate summit in Poland this week, and he had good reason to be. While he voiced concern over “too many disagreements” among participating nations, Norway itself hasn’t done very well in cutting its own carbon emissions, and tumbled in new […]
Bergen is most future-oriented
December 5, 2018
Norway’s West Coast city of Bergen has preserved its history but also is best equipped to tackle the future, according to a survey of the country’s 71 largest cities. Bergen tops the list, followed by Bryne farther south in Rogaland, and Kongsberg, which has been attracting new businesses for years. The survey, conducted by consulting […]
‘Krone’ weakens as oil prices fall
November 14, 2018
Norway’s krone has been losing value again this week, after oil prices sunk back to where they were last spring. It cost just over NOK 8.50 to buy one US dollar Wednesday afternoon, even after oil prices slightly recovered. The price of a barrel of Norway’s North Sea crude oil, the country’s most important export […]
New oil discovery ‘important’
November 2, 2018
Norway’s state oil company Equinor called the discovery of more oil in the Barents Sea “important,” when announcing this week that a well drilled near the Johan Castberg field can yield 25 million barrels. Nick Ashton, in charge of Equinor’s offshore exploration on the Norwegian and British continental shelfs, said oil from the new well […]
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