Norway gas workers spot drones
Experts: Russia likely spying, possibly for future sabotage
by MARK LEWIS The Associated Press | October 24, 2022

The Sleipner A gas platform, Norway, Oct. 1, 2022 as a Coast Guard ship patrols around the platform. Norwegian oil and gas workers normally don’t see anything more threatening than North Sea waves crashing against the steel legs of their offshore platforms. But lately they have noticed a more troubling sight: unidentified drones buzzing in the skies overhead. (Ole Berg-Rusten/NTB Scanpix via AP, File)

STAVANGER, Norway -- With Norway replacing Russia as Europe's main source of natural gas, military experts suspect unidentified drones spotted by Norwegian oil and gas workers are Moscow's doings. They list espionage, sabotage and intimidation as possible motives for the drone flights.

The Norwegian government has sent warships, coastguard vessels and fighter jets to patrol around the offshore facilities. Norway's national guard stationed soldiers around onshore refineries that also were buzzed by drones.

Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Store has invited the navies of NATO allies Britain, France and Germany to help address what could be more than a Norwegian problem.

Precious little of the offshore oil that provides vast income for Norway is used by the country's 5.4 million inhabitants. Instead, it powers much of Europe. Natural gas is another commodity of continental significance.

"The value of Norwegian gas to Europe has never been higher," Stale Ulriksen, a researcher at the Royal Norwegian Naval Academy, said. "As a strategic target for sabotage, Norwegian gas pipelines are probably the highest value target in Europe."

Closures of airports, and evacuations of an oil refinery and a gas terminal earlier this month due to drone sightings, caused huge disruptions. But with winter approaching in Europe, there is worry the drones may portend a bigger threat to the 5,600 miles of gas pipelines that spider from Norway's sea platforms to terminals in Britain and mainland Europe.

Since the start of the war in Ukraine in late February, European Union countries have scrambled to replace their Russian gas imports with shipments from Norway. The suspected sabotage of the Nord Stream 1 and 2 pipelines in the Baltic Sea last month happened a day before Norway opened a new Baltic pipeline to Poland.

Amund Revheim, who heads the North Sea and environment group for Norway's South West Police force, said his team interviewed more than 70 offshore workers who have spotted drones near their facilities.

"The working thesis is that they are controlled from vessels or submarines nearby," Revheim said.




Winged drones have a longer range, but investigators considered credible a sighting of a helicopter-style bladed odel near the Sleipner platform, located in a North Sea gas field 150 miles from the coast.

Norwegian police have worked closely with military investigators who are analyzing marine traffic. Some platform operators have reported seeing Russian-flagged research vessels in close vicinity. Revheim said no pattern has been established from legal marine traffic and he is concerned about causing unnecessary, disruptive worry for workers.

But Ulriksen, of the naval academy, said the distinction between Russian civilian and military ships is narrow and the reported research vessels could fairly be described as "spy ships."

The arrest of at least seven Russian nationals caught either carrying or illegally flying drones over Norwegian territory has raised tensions. On Wednesday, the same day a drone sighting grounded planes in Bergen, Norway's second-biggest city, the Norwegian Police Security Service took over the case from local officers.

"We have taken over the investigation because it is our job to investigate espionage and enforce sanction rules against Russia," Martin Bernsen, an official with the service known by the Norwegian acronym PST, said. He said the "sabotage or possible mapping" of energy infrastructure was an ongoing concern.

Store, the prime minister, warned that Norway would take action against foreign intelligence agencies. "It is not acceptable for foreign intelligence to fly drones over Norwegian airports. Russians are not allowed to fly drones in Norway," he said.

Russia's Embassy in Oslo hit back Thursday, claiming that Norway was experiencing a form of "psychosis" causing "paranoia."

Fears over Russian threat to Norway’s energy infrastructure

October 24, 2022

STAVANGER, NORWAY (AP) – Norwegian oil and gas workers normally don’t see anything more threatening than North Sea waves crashing against the steel legs of their offshore platforms. But lately they have noticed a more troubling sight: unidentified drones buzzing in the skies overhead.

With Norway replacing Russia as Europe’s main source of natural gas, military experts suspect the unmanned aircraft are Moscow’s doings. They list espionage, sabotage and intimidation as possible motives for the drone flights.

The Norwegian government has sent warships, coastguard vessels and fighter jets to patrol around the offshore facilities. Norway’s national guard stationed soldiers around onshore refineries that also were buzzed by drones.

Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre has invited the navies of NATO allies Britain, France and Germany to help address what could be more than a Norwegian problem.

Precious little of the offshore oil that provides vast income for Norway is used by the country’s 5.4 million inhabitants. Instead, it powers much of Europe. Natural gas is another commodity of continental significance.

“The value of Norwegian gas to Europe has never been higher,” researcher at the Royal Norwegian Naval Academy Ståle Ulriksen said. “As a strategic target for sabotage, Norwegian gas pipelines are probably the highest value target in Europe.”

Closures of airports, and evacuations of an oil refinery and a gas terminal last week due to drone sightings caused huge disruptions. But with winter approaching in Europe, there is worry the drones may portend a bigger threat to the 9,000 kilometres of gas pipelines that spider from Norway’s sea platforms to terminals in Britain and mainland Europe.

Since the start of the war in Ukraine in late February, European Union countries have scrambled to replace their Russian gas imports with shipments from Norway. The suspected sabotage of the Nordstream I and II pipelines in the Baltic Sea last month happened a day before Norway opened a new Baltic pipeline to Poland.

Amund Revheim, who heads the North Sea and environment group for Norway’s South West Police force, said his team interviewed more than 70 offshore workers who have spotted drones near their facilities.

“The working thesis is that they are controlled from vessels or submarines nearby,” Revheim said.

Winged drones have a longer range, but investigators considered credible a sighting of a helicopter-style bladed model near the Sleipner platform, located in a North Sea gas field 250 kilometres from the coast.

Norwegian police have worked closely with military investigators who are analysing marine traffic. Some platform operators have reported seeing Russian-flagged research vessels in close vicinity.

Revheim said no pattern has been established from legal marine traffic and he is concerned about causing unnecessary, disruptive worry for workers.

But Ulriksen, of the naval academy, said the distinction between Russian civilian and military ships is narrow and the reported research vessels could fairly be described as “spy ships”.

The arrest of at least seven Russian nationals caught either carrying or illegally flying drones over Norwegian territory has raised tensions. On Wednesday, the same day a drone sighting grounded planes in Bergen, Norway’s second-biggest city, the Norwegian Police Security Service took over the case from local officers. “We have taken over the investigation because it is our job to investigate espionage and enforce sanction rules against Russia,” Martin Bernsen, an official with the service known by the Norwegian acronym PST said.

He said the “sabotage or possible mapping” of energy infrastructure was an ongoing concern.

Støre, the prime minister, warned that Norway would take action against foreign intelligence agencies.

“It is not acceptable for foreign intelligence to fly drones over Norwegian airports. Russians are not allowed to fly drones in Norway,” he said.

Russia’s Embassy in Oslo hit back on Thursday, claiming that Norway was experiencing a form of “psychosis” causing “paranoia”.

Naval academy researcher thinks that is probably part of the plan.

“Several of the drones have been flown with their lights on,” he said. “They are supposed to be observed. I think it is an attempt to intimidate Norway and the West.”

Norway to offer record number of Arctic oil, gas exploration blocks

Tue, 24 January 2023 


Norway on Tuesday said it plans to offer a record number of gas and oil exploration blocks in the Arctic, with environmental NGOs condemning an "aggressive" promotion of fossil fuels.

The Scandinavian nation -- Europe's primary natural gas supplier and a major oil producer -- proposed 92 exploration blocks, including an unprecedented 78 in the Barents Sea in the far north.

The other 14 are in the Norwegian Sea near the Arctic Circle.

"New discoveries remain necessary to continue to develop the Norwegian plateau" and are important for Europe, Oil and Energy Minister Terje Aasland said in a statement.

The announcement is part of the annual granting of oil licences in so-called "mature" zones that have already been widely explored.

The centre-left government, lacking a parliamentary majority, reached an agreement with the Socialist Left party last year to forbid prospection in unexplored areas by 2025.

The government's propositions sparked outrage among environmental organisations.

Truls Gulowsen, head of the Norwegian branch of Friends of the Earth, condemned an "extremely aggressive" cycle of concessions presented as the United Nations and the International Energy Agency discourage further oil exploration to achieve climate goals.

The NGO said the proposal would violate the commitment not to explore virgin territory as some blocks were to be located far from existing infrastructure.

The right-wing opposition, a fervent defender of Norway's oil sector, said the move was a "tactical game" by the government to give itself bargaining chips to use in future negotiations with the Socialist Left.

Oil industry body Offshore Norge welcomed the fact that "attractive areas" would be opened to prospection.

The proposals will go to a public consultation. Oil companies must submit their applications later this year and licences will be granted in January 2024.

The Barents Sea has long been seen as a productive area for the energy sector, but oil and gas extraction is so far only taking place at two sites in Norwegian waters.

phy/map/imm/ea

Norway’s fossil fuel bonanza stokes impassioned debate about how best to spend its ‘war profits’

Story by Sam Meredith • Yesterday - CNBC

Norway's skyrocketing oil and gas wealth is expected to climb to new heights this year, boosted by higher fossil fuel prices in the wake of Russia's nearly year-long onslaught in Ukraine.

It has ignited an impassioned debate about international justice, with many questioning whether it is fair for Norway to rake in record oil and gas revenues at the expense of others' misfortune.

"Most European countries are getting poorer because of the war. Norway is getting richer — much richer," Lars-Henrik Paarup Michelsen, director of the Norwegian Climate Foundation think tank, told CNBC via telephone.


Norway is making more money from oil and gas exports than ever.© Provided by CNBC

Norway's skyrocketing oil and gas wealth is expected to climb to new heights this year, boosted by higher fossil fuel prices in the wake of Russia's nearly year-long onslaught in Ukraine.

The ballooning petroleum profits of the Scandinavian country put Oslo in a unique position: As many in Europe are struggling to cope with the region's worst energy crisis in decades, Norway — already extremely rich — is getting richer still.

It has ignited an impassioned debate about international justice, with many questioning whether it is fair for Norway to rake in record oil and gas revenues at the expense of others' misfortune.

Opposition lawmakers, prominent economists in the country, and even titans of Norway's energy industry have called on the government to set an example to the world by pumping its fossil fuel revenues into a new international solidarity fund that helps countries meet their climate goals.

Norway's Finance Ministry expects the state's revenues from oil and gas sales to climb to 1.38 trillion Norwegian krone ($131 billion) this year. That's up from a previous record of 1.17 trillion krone last year, and a nearly fivefold increase from 288 billion krone in 2021.

"They are war profits," Lars-Henrik Paarup Michelsen, director of the Norwegian Climate Foundation think tank, told CNBC via telephone.

"Most European countries are getting poorer because of the war. Norway is getting richer — much richer."


Opposition lawmakers, prominent economists and even titans of Norway's energy industry have called on Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Store's government to set an example to the world by pumping at least some of its fossil fuel revenues into a new international solidarity fund.© Provided by CNBC

Michelsen said he was fearful that by choosing to pocket its bumper oil and gas profits, Norway is damaging its international reputation, warning that the country is at risk of being perceived as "very egocentric."

"We are in a completely different position than the rest of Europe and I think, with that, it also bears a responsibility," Michelsen said. He called for the government to redirect its extraordinary windfall to further help Ukraine, accelerate Europe's energy transition and provide climate finance for low-income countries.

Related video: Fossil fuel industry takes gaslighting to new level with dark money campaign (MSNBC)   Duration 4:11   View on Watch

"This situation is certainly not of our making and not to our liking," Norway's Deputy Foreign Minister Eivind Vad Petersson told CNBC via telephone. He argued that it is critically important for Europe's energy security that Norway keeps gas production high.

Petersson said the government's financial support to Ukraine is approaching 1.5 billion euros ($1.63 billion), adding that the country's policymakers are working on a multi-year program to continue to help Kyiv.

When asked about accusations that the country is war profiteering, Petersson replied, "No, not really … The indirect effect, we fully acknowledge, is that our revenues have increased, but I do not accept that label."

"We are very well aware of the responsibility that comes with the fact that we have these resources. Of course, the responsibility to protect it, bearing in mind the crucial role of energy security now in Europe for this winter and possibly next," Petersson said.

He added that Norway's government is also "fully aware of the responsibility that comes with being a supporter and donor, not only to Ukraine but also other countries across the world suffering the effects of Russia's war."

'We should contribute more with this money'

Norway, which last year overtook Russia as Europe's biggest natural gas supplier, has been one of the world's top crude producers for the past half-century. That's thanks to its gigantic North Sea petroleum deposits — the spoils of which have been used to provide a robust safety net for current and future generations.

The Norwegian government's net cash flow from petroleum sales is transferred into Norway's $1.3 trillion sovereign wealth fund. The government can only spend a small part of the fund each year, but this is still estimated to amount to nearly 20% of the government budget.

The so-called Government Pension Fund Global, among the world's largest sovereign wealth funds, was established in the 1990s to invest the surplus revenues of Norway's oil and gas sector. To date, the fund has invested in more than 9,300 companies in 70 countries around the world.


Norway, which last year overtook Russia as Europe's biggest gas supplier, has been one of the world's top crude producers for the past half-century.© Provided by CNBC

"These excess profits, as we may call it, are a direct result of the war," said Ingrid Fiskaa, foreign affairs spokesperson for Norway's Socialist Left, whose support is critical for Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Store's minority government.

Fiskaa highlighted that legislation in Norway limits the use of oil revenues in the domestic economy to avoid high inflation — and that, she argues, strengthens the case for investing in international solidarity.

"There should be a lot more debate on this issue," Fiskaa told CNBC via telephone. "Oil companies are getting richer and richer, but we don't see that money — and who is really paying for this? It is the rest of the world. We should contribute more with this money."

Norway's aid budget has hovered near 1% of its gross national income for more than a decade, making it one of the world's most generous donors.

Store's government was sharply criticized last year for proposing to cut the proportion of GNI it spends on foreign aid to 0.75%. That level is still significantly above the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development's average of 0.3%, but civil society groups described the move as "embarrassing" at a time when Oslo was making money like never before.

Norway's foreign ministry has since pledged to deliver on its aid budget target of 1% of GNI in 2023.

Norway sovereign wealth fund excludes AviChina, Bharat Electronics

Tue, 24 January 2023 

OSLO (Reuters) - Norway's sovereign wealth fund, the world's largest, said on Tuesday it has excluded China's AviChina and India's Bharat Electronics from its portfolio.

The two were excluded due to "unacceptable risk that (the) companies are selling weapons to a state that uses these weapons in ways that constitute serious and systematic breaches of international rules on conduct of hostilities," the fund said.

"The background for the decision is sales of light airplanes and other military material respectively to the military in Myanmar," Norges Bank Investment Management said.

 Norway approves deep sea mining in Arctic Ocean

Cecilia Jamasmie | January 9, 2024 | 

The area opened to exploration covers about 280,000 square kilometres (108,000 sq. miles), about the size of Ecuador or the state of Nevada. (Image courtesy of Empetre | Flickr Commons.)

Norway’s parliament approved on Tuesday commercial plans to open the Arctic Ocean to seabed mineral exploration, despite environmental groups and the fishing industry’s warnings that the move would put the biodiversity of vulnerable ecosystems at risk.


The bill, voted in 80-20 by lawmakers, allows the exploration of around 280,000 sq km (108,000 sq m) of Arctic seabed, an area bigger than the size of the United Kingdom, between Norway and Greenland.

It is anticipated that an agreement on deep-sea mining in international waters could follow later in the year.

The move by the European country, where vast oil and gas reserves have made it one of the world’s wealthiest nations, aims to diversify its economy away from fossil fuels.

But it puts the country at odds with the EU and the UK, which have called for a temporary ban on the practice because of concerns about environmental effects.

“We’ve mapped vast areas in the northern Norwegian Sea since 2017. We’ve taken samples and collected data about minerals and metals found on the seabed,” the government said in a statement. “We’ve done this by means of our own expeditions, and also in cooperation with expert communities from universities.”

The Norwegian continental shelf contains sulfide crusts, which may hold as much as 45 million tonnes of zinc. Manganese crusts, also present, may have around 3 million metric tonnes of cobalt, according to a white paper released by the government last June.

Critics were quick to react. Greenpeace called it “a shameful day” for Norway. “It is embarrassing to watch Norway positioning itself as an ocean leader while giving the green light to ocean destruction in Arctic waters,” said Frode Pleym, head of Greenpeace Norway. “But this doesn’t end here. The wave of protests against deep sea mining has only begun.”

“Black mark” on Norway’s reputation

Kaja Lønne Fjærtoft, global policy lead for WWF’s No Deep Seabed Mining Initiative, said the organization was drawing a “small glimmer of hope” from the fact that extraction licences would still need parliamentary approval, an amendment added after strong international pushback.

The Environmental Justice Foundation (EJF) said the decision, would act as “an irrevocable black mark on Norway’s reputation as a responsible ocean state”.

Analysts highlight the risk of geopolitical tension in Europe’s northern and baltic regions. The area Norway has opened up to exploration, in the Barents Sea and Greenland Sea, is near the Arctic islands of the Svalbard archipelago. Oslo claims it has the sole right to mine in this area, but Russia and the European Union dispute this claim.

A section of a sulphide sample, obtained during the Norwegian Offshore Directorate’s expedition to the Mohns Ridge in the Norwegian Sea in 2020.

 (Image: Øystein Leiknes Nag, Norwegian Offshore Directorate.)

According to the nation’s Ministry of Petroleum and Energy, the 280,000km2 (108,000 sq miles) along the mid-Atlantic Ridge, contains volcanic springs that surge from the Earth’s crust. They are believed to host an estimated 38 million tonnes of copper—more than the world’s approximate annual copper production.

A government-sponsored survey also found rare earth elements in polymetallic sulphides, or so-called “black smokers”, nearly 3,000 metres (9,842 feet) deep.

While international rules for seabed mineral extraction are yet to be set, Norway doesn’t need to wait, because it plans to search for minerals on its extended continental shelf.

Proponents of deep sea mining argue that extracting raw materials from the seafloor will enable a faster transition to a low-carbon economy and could come at a lower environmental cost than terrestrial mining.

Scientists say very little is still known about the depths of the world’s oceans — only a small fraction of which humans have explored — and many are concerned about the impacts on these ecosystems already affected by pollution, trawling and the climate

 crisis.

Norway's Turn Towards Deep-Sea Mining Dismays Experts

The country has been hailed as an ocean champion in recent years, but its turn towards seabed mining raises concerns for life in its waters

Proposed mining lease areas between Jan Mayen, Svalbard and Norwegian mainland. Lease areas in red, MPAs in blue (China Dialogue Ocean)

PUBLISHED JAN 7, 2024 1:46 PM BY CHINA DIALOGUE OCEAN

 

 

 [By Olive Heffernan]

Norway, renowned for its substantial offshore oil and gas reserves, made a surprise move in 2021 to rebrand itself as an ocean champion. However, this environmental turn is being reversed as the government pursues commercial mining in the country’s extended seabed shelf along with new oil and gas exploration.

When it pledged to sustainably manage 100% of its coastal waters by 2025, Norway encouraged other nations to do the same, through a global initiative it co-chairs called the High-Level Panel for a Sustainable Ocean Economy. By 2022, 17 nations covering 46% of the world’s coastal waters had signed the pact.

Their ambition, to chart a course toward better ocean stewardship, was informed by a two-year scientific review from 250 global experts. The panel also sought advice from more than 135 organisations across industry, finance and civil society.

In a 2020 report, expert advisors to the panel concluded that certain activities, specifically oil and gas exploration and deep-sea mining, were “difficult to align with the definition of a sustainable ocean economy”. They encouraged huge investments in sustainable industries, such as carbon storage and renewable ocean-based energy production.

But, in a departure from this expert advice, Norway is pursuing a strategy of intensified seabed extraction for mineral, oil and gas reserves. In June, the nation approved new permits, worth US$18.5 billion, to expand offshore oil and gas drilling.

In the same month, it also proposed opening up 280,000 square kilometres of its seafloor – an area the size of Ireland and the UK combined – to deep-sea mining, a nascent industry with unknown and potentially disastrous impacts for marine ecosystems. 

Six months later, the proposal to progress deep-sea mining was met with cross-party support in the parliament, making Norway the nation most likely to begin commercial extraction of rare metals from the ocean.

Mining the deep

Up until now, no body has succeeded in commercially exploiting deep-sea minerals at scale.

A parliamentary debate on 4 January, followed by a vote, will decide the fate of Norway’s plan. If met with approval, the government will announce specific areas available for exploration for commercial grade ores in 2024. The sites will be scattered in the Barents, Norwegian and Greenland seas.

According to the Ministry of Petroleum and Energy, several Norwegian companies – mostly with expertise in offshore oil and gas exploration – have shown an interest in seabed mining and are likely to apply for exploration licences. The March acquisition by Norwegian start-up Loke Marine Minerals of UK Seabed Resources, a deep-sea mining subsidiary of the US weapons manufacturer Lockheed Martin, makes it another likely applicant for a licence under Norway’s Seabed Minerals Act.

The majority of the proposed mining area is in Arctic waters, where Norway has an extended continental seabed, giving it jurisdiction over these resources, according to Fredrik Myhre, head of oceans for WWF Norway.

Recent surveys carried out by the Norwegian Offshore Directorate revealed substantial quantities of copper, cobalt, magnesium and rare earth minerals at these locations, in two forms: manganese crusts and inactive hydrothermal vents.

The mineral-rich crusts cover rock formations and accrete over long time periods, while the vent deposits are formed when hot springs rise up through the seafloor and precipitate leached metals and minerals.  

Although deep-sea mining technology is still under development in Norway, companies elsewhere have designed mammoth excavators – each around 15 metres long, 4 metres wide, and 270 tonnes – to cut and grind mineral-laden rocks from the seabed. 

By mining these resources, the Norwegian government hopes to secure its own supply of the ores needed to build green energy technologies, such as EV batteries, wind turbines and solar panels.

In an email, Norway’s Ministry of Petroleum and Energy said: “Seabed mineral activities must take place in a prudent and safe manner and in due consideration of the environment”.

But conservationists say that many of the earmarked sites contain vulnerable ecosystems and species that are likely to be negatively impacted by mining. Daniel Bengtsson for Greenpeace Nordic says that one area, close to Jan Mayen Island in the Arctic, is a well-known biodiversity hotspot. “This is an area where whales migrate, it’s a feeding ground for large marine mammals, it is important for seabirds”, he says. “There’s no doubt that these are sensitive areas”, says Bengtsson, adding that there’s also a growing concern that mining could impact the ocean’s ability to store carbon.

The Norwegian government is currently assessing the sites earmarked for mining to determine whether they contain vulnerable marine ecosystems, a term describing areas of seafloor covered in underwater forests formed by animals such as deep-sea sponges and cold-water corals.

An anemone on the seabed around the island of Svalbard, Norway. The deep sea is believed to be home to hundreds, maybe thousands, of animal and plant species that we know little about. (Image © Gavin Newman / Greenpeace)

If sites earmarked for mining are found to contain such ecosystems – a decision that could be made before the summer – then environmentalists will campaign to have them protected on the basis of their ecological importance.

Myhre of WWF Norway cautions that not enough is known about these areas to even assess the likely damage from mining. “This opening, of such a huge area without knowledge of the deep sea and the ecosystem functions of the deep sea … is the biggest disgrace I’ve seen in Norwegian ocean management in modern times,” he says.

Globally, opposition to deep-sea mining is also mounting. More than 750 scientists, from 44 countries, have voiced their concerns about the environmental impacts, which could include irreversible habitat loss, local extinctions and noise pollution. Sediment kicked up by mining could also enter the water column and negatively impact wildlife and commercial fisheries. At least 20 governments, including Brazil, Canada, the UK, France and Sweden, have called for a global pause in seabed mineral exploitation until further research is carried out, to assess the potential damage to marine life. Several large companies, including BMW, Google and Samsung, have vowed not to use materials sourced from deep-sea mining in their products.

Scientists and policymakers voice dismay

Including the deep-sea mining proposal, Norway’s recent policies on ocean resource exploitation have dismayed the experts who spent months advising the High-Level Panel for a Sustainable Ocean Economy on how to create a sustainable ocean economy.

“I’m pretty angry,” says Henrik Österblom, an environmental scientist at the Stockholm Resilience Centre in Sweden, an expert advisor to the panel. “We were super excited by this opportunity”, he says, but now with “one country working against all the advice they received … it feels like a total waste of time, like we are pawns in somebody else’s political game”.

Vidar Helgesen, who was Norway’s special envoy to the panel and one of its architects, alongside former Norwegian Prime Minister Erna Solberg, says there should have been a formal mechanism to track commitments.

Helgesen, who now works as executive director for the Nobel Foundation, says that he proposed having an independent body make regular assessments of national progress toward the 2025 goal. That suggestion wasn’t taken up by signatory states as some wanted a “softer” approach. A 2022 progress report entitled Tracking Blue reported few tangible outcomes for Norway. The next progress report is due in 2024. 

Others share Österblom’s dismay. “The response, unfortunately, has not been at all what I expected,” says Rashid Sumaila, director of the fisheries economics research unit at the University of British Columbia in Vancouver. “There was no commitment to follow through on the science”.

Peter Haugan, a fisheries scientist at the University of Bergen who chaired the panel’s expert group and co-authored the 2020 report, says he “shares the sense of disillusionment” especially with Norway’s recent decisions on oil, gas and mineral extraction.

The nation also falls short on taking steps to protect its own waters. “We really are a massive ocean nation,” says Myhre, referring to the fact that Norway’s ocean area is six times that of its landmass. However, less than 1% of its national waters are highly protected from industrial fishing and other extractive industries.

Elsewhere, Norway has been criticised by environmental groups for continuing to allow ocean dumping of mine waste – a practice outlawed in most other coastal states – and for its planned five-fold increase in salmon farming, an industry accused of high fish mortality and coastal pollution.

Overseas, Norway’s reputation has fared better. In September, it signed the High Seas Treaty, a new UN agreement to protect marine life in waters beyond national control.

Colette Wabniz, an expert adviser to the high-level ocean panel and a marine ecologist at Stanford University, says that Norway should also be commended for funding efforts to improve governance and equity of small-scale fisheries in Tanzania.

Sumaila shares this observation and says that Norway has invested in training many fisheries scientists in Africa. But, says Wabnitz, “Leadership is about walking the talk. It’s unfortunate that Norway is exemplary in some ways elsewhere, but it’s not more exemplary with its own policies at home.”

When asked about the discrepancy between Norway’s commitments as an ocean leader and its current policies, a spokesperson for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said, by email: “Norway has a long tradition for prudent, responsible, and sustainable resource management”, which it intends to apply to both future oil and gas and mineral extraction.

The spokesperson said: “There will of course be challenges implementing the Ocean Panel’s ambitious agenda, and these challenges will vary between countries”, but added that Norway is fully committed to implementing the panel commitments, and to continuing its leadership role.

Not everyone is convinced, however, that Norway can marry these ambitions. “The things that we are doing now, especially opening the seabed to mining, is really putting the nail in the coffin for Norway as a responsible ocean nation,” says Myhre. “We have to change course, if we are to have sustainable ocean management.”

Olive Heffernan is a freelance science journalist who covers oceans and climate change. You can tweet her at @O_Heffernan and read her latest stories at www.oliveheffernan.com.

This article appears courtesy of China Dialogue Ocean and may be found in its original form here. 

The opinions expressed herein are the author's and not necessarily those of The Maritime Executive.

Norway Looks To Ramp Up Exploration In Arctic Waters

By Felicity Bradstock - May 29, 2023

• The Norwegian government recently asked energy companies to increase their oil and gas exploration in remote areas, such as the Arctic Barents Sea.
• 
  
• In 2020, Norway exported 87 percent of its energy production.
• 
  
• Norway is expected to offer a record number of oil and gas exploration blocks in the Arctic for companies to begin exploration. 
• 
  
  

Norway appears to remain firmly committed to its oil and gas operations despite leading the green transition. Norway has long used almost entirely renewable energy to power its domestic consumption, yet it is still one of the world’s biggest producers of oil and gas for export. Considering that revenues from its fossil fuel operations have helped it amass huge wealth, in the form of the country’s sovereign wealth fund, it’s no wonder Norway is dedicated to oil and gas. But as one of the forerunners in the green transition, with ambitious climate targets, can being an oil and gas producer as well as a massive proponent of renewable energy really align? 

Norway is an energy-rich country, with vast oil and gas resources in the North Sea, as well as hydropower and wind sources. This has allowed it to develop its vast fossil fuel revenues for reinvestment in economic diversification, including the development of its green energy projects. In 2020, Norway exported 87 percent of its energy production, and was the seventh-largest natural gas exporter in the world, providing 3 percent of the world’s gas. It also supplied 2.3 percent of the world’s oil in 2020. At the domestic level, its hydropower production covered 92 percent of its national demand. The country has reinvested its oil and gas earnings into green projects in recent years, particularly in national infrastructure, meaning it now has a high level of electrification. Electricity provides almost half of the country’s total final consumption (TFC), the highest share of International Energy Agency (IEA) member countries. 

With an already strong renewable energy industry and a high level of electrification, Norway could be one of the leaders of the global green transition, with the potential to lead the world on new technologies for decarbonising hard-to-abate sectors. For example, if the right policies and incentives are introduced, the uptake of electric vehicles (EVs), carbon capture and storage (CCS) technologies, and green hydrogen could be significant, according to the IEA.

Despite this progress, Norway remains heavily committed to its oil operations as a major source of revenue, while the global demand remains high. The Norwegian government recently asked energy companies to increase their oil and gas exploration in remote areas, such as the Arctic Barents Sea, despite pressure from climate activists to curb its oil and gas activities. The support for greater exploration responds to the energy shortages of 2022, following the Russian invasion of Ukraine and subsequent sanctions on Russian oil and gas. 

Norway overtook Russia as one of the largest natural gas suppliers to Europe last year and is looking to keep that place to ensure European energy security as well as reduce Russia’s role in Europe’s energy market. And its revenues have increased substantially, with the country earning around $131 billion in net income from petroleum in 2022, compared to $29 billion in 2021. To this end, Norway’s Petroleum and Energy Minister Terje Aasland reportedly stated that the industry should “leave no stone unturned” in the search for newhydrocarbon discoveries in the Barents Sea. The country’s biggest oil and gas company Equinor, as well as Vår Energi, a major exploration and production company, confirmed this call to action. 

There are already several oil and gas fields in production and under development in the Norwegian continental shelf, after 50 years of successful operations in the region. However, it is estimated that much more undiscovered oil lies in the Arctic’s Barents Sea. Much of this region remains unexplored due to the high costs involved with new projects, as well as limited export opportunities. However, with the growing European demand for non-Russian gas, this could all change. And Norway is expected to offer a record number of oil and gas exploration blocks in the Arctic for companies to begin exploration. 

Unsurprisingly, several environmental groups disagree with the move, calling on Norway to stop new exploration and further develop its renewable energy potential. Many organisations believe that Norway’s actions are going against its climate pledges and its role as a Paris Agreement signee. Frode Pleym, head of Greenpeace Norway said “Both Norway and the oil corporations need to stop cynically exploiting Russia’s war in Ukraine,”. Pleym explained, “The aggressive and greedy oil policy of Norway do not only consolidate Oslo’s position as a top energy supplier to Europe, it locks a whole continent into future dependency on fossil fuels. The alternative to oil and gas is not more oil and gas, it is more energy efficiency and renewable energy.” 

Norway is the biggest hydropower nation in Europe, and its wind and floating offshore wind capacity is significant and ever-growing. It is also developing its floating solar resources and using direct heat in its cities. Several major Norwegian companies, such as Equinor, are investing heavily in renewable energy projects abroad to support the green transition and become global leaders in green energy. But despite the leaps and bounds taken in renewables, Norway simply refuses to leave its oil and gas potential unexplored. While this could help boost European energy security, it could also lead to a longer reliance on oil and gas than may be necessary. 

By Felicity Bradstock for Oilprice.com

Norway’s left-wing opposition wins election in a landslide

Labour expected to form coalition with other left-leaning parties as it seeks to reduce inequality and wean the economy off oil.

Jubilation for Norway's Labour Party and leader Jonas Gahr Store (second right) after exit polls showed victory in the election. 

[Javad Parsa/ NTB via AFP]
14 Sep 2021

Norway’s left-wing opposition headed by Labour Party leader Jonas Gahr Store has had a landslide win in a general election after a campaign dominated by the future of the country’s oil industry.

Store unseated a centre-right coalition on Monday headed by Conservative Prime Minister Erna Solberg, which had been in power since 2013.

“We waited, we hoped, and we have worked so hard, and now we can finally say it: We did it!,” Store, who is likely to be the next prime minister, told cheering supporters after Solberg conceded defeat.

With 97.5 percent of the votes counted, Labour and four other centre-left parties could swing to a combined majority of 100 seats, up from 81 currently, the Directorate of Elections projected.

A minimum of 85 seats is required to win a majority in the 169-seat parliament.

“Norway has sent a clear signal: the election shows that the Norwegian people want a fairer society,” said the 61-year-old millionaire who campaigned against social inequalities.

Norwegian Prime Minister Erna Solberg, leader of the Conservative Party, conceded defeat on Monday night after eight years in power [Heiko Junge/NTB via Reuters]

Norway’s position as western Europe’s biggest oil and gas producer was at the heart of the election campaign after the August report on climate from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) thrust the issue to the top of the agenda. Store had called for a gradual transition away from the oil economy, while the Greens had called for an immediate end to oil exploration. The Conservatives had also called for a transition away from the fossil fuels that have made Norway wealthy.

“I want to congratulate Jonas Gahr Store, who now seems to have a clear majority for a change of government,” 60-year-old Solberg said in her concession speech.

To form a viable cabinet, Stoere might need to persuade potential centre-left partners to compromise on policies ranging from oil and private ownership to Norway’s relations with the European Union.

“We, as the biggest party, will make sure that Norway will get a new government and a new course,” Store said in a speech to party members.

“In the coming days, I will invite the leaders of all parties who want a change,” he said, adding he would start with the Centre Party and Socialist Left.

The oil sector accounts for 14 percent of Norway’s gross domestic product, as well as 40 percent of its exports and employs 160,000 people directly.

It has also helped the country of 5.4 million people amass the world’s biggest sovereign wealth fund, today worth close to 12 trillion kroner ($1.4 trillion).


A former minister in the governments of Jens Stoltenberg between 2005 and 2013, Store is now expected to begin negotiations with the Centre, which primarily defends the interests of its rural base, and the Socialist Left, which is a strong advocate for environmental issues.

Store has also pledged to address inequality by cutting taxes for low and middle-income families and increasing rates for the rich

SOURCE: NEWS AGENCIES

Norway's center-left heads to victory in general elections

Jan M. Olsen, The Associated Press
Published Monday, September 13, 2021 

COPENHAGEN, Denmark (AP) - The center-left bloc headed to a victory in Norway's elections Monday as official projections pointed to the governing Conservatives losing power after a campaign dominated by climate change and the future of the country's oil and gas exploration industry.

With a projection based on a preliminary count of nearly 93% of the votes, the Labor Party and its two allies - the Socialist Left and the euroskeptic Center Party - would hold 100 seats in the 169-seat Stortinget assembly while the current government would get 68. One seat was still unsure.

As Norway's largest party, Labor will try to form a coalition government and its chief, 61-year-old Jonas Gahr Stoere, is poised to become Norway's next leader. The Scandinavian country is not a member of the European Union.

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“We will now give Norway a new government and a new course,” Gahr Stoere said on a election night before cheering party members who chanted “Stoere” and clapped. He added that he will in the coming days invite the parties “that want a new change” for talks.

Labor has promised an industrial policy that will funnel support to new green industries, like wind power, “blue hydrogen” that uses natural gas to produce an alternative fuel, and carbon capture and storage, which seeks to bury carbon dioxide under the ocean.

In the 2013 election, Labor was ousted from power, enabling the Conservatives' Erna Solberg to become prime minister and Norway's longest-serving leader. Gahr Stoere said Monday that he also wanted to thank Solberg for having been “a good prime minister.”

“We knew we needed a miracle --the Conservatives' work session is over,” said Solberg. “I congratulate Jonas Gahr Stoere with what looks like a clear majority.”

Her Conservatives suffered a setback, losing 4.7 percentage points which was dubbed by Norwegian broadcaster NRK as “the election's biggest loser.” Its former coalition partner, the Progress Party lost 3.4 percentage points, according to a preliminary counting of more than 93% of the votes by Norway's election commission.

The 60-year-old Solberg has been ahead of a minority government since 2020 -- before then it was coalitions with, among others, the populist Progress Party. Due to her long tenure, as well as her commitment to economic liberalism, she became known at home as “Iron Erna” -- inspired by the late British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher who was nicknamed “The Iron Lady” for her firm style.

Solberg was hoping to become the first prime minister to win a third consecutive four-year term. During her eight-year tenure, she has expanded oil exploration, cut taxes and sought to make public administration more efficient.

Any post-election horse trading is likely to be fraught for the Labor Party and Gahr Stoere. The Socialist Left won't offer its support lightly and the Center Party is also demanding a more aggressive approach toward shifting to renewable energy.

The Center Party made the largest gains in the election by grabbing nearly 14% of the votes - a 3.6 percentage point hike - with its leader Trygve Slagsvold Vedum, a farmer-turned-politician, noting with a large smile that it had become the third largest group in Stortinget after Labor and the Conservatives.

The campaign focused on the North Sea oil and gas that has helped make Norway one of the world's wealthiest countries. But fears about climate change have put the future of the industry in doubt. The country's biggest industry is responsible for over 40% of exports and directly employs more than 5% of the workforce.

On the other hand, Norwegians are among the most climate-conscious consumers in the world, with most new car purchases now being electric.

Most of Norway's oil and gas still comes from mature areas in the North Sea, but most of the country's untapped reserves are in the Barents Sea, above the Arctic Circle. That is a red line for environmentalists, who could play a crucial role in securing a majority government.

Gahr Stoere is a former civil servant who was elected to the Stortinget in 2009. He also owns a large part of his family's company, and most the fortune there comes from the sale in 1977 of a Norwegian company that made cast iron stoves and fireplaces.

Stoere also served as foreign minister from 2005-2013 under then-Prime Minister Jens Stoltenberg and took over the reins of the party when Stoltenberg became NATO's secretary general.

Nearly 3.9 million Norwegians were eligible to vote and more than 1.6 million of them voted in advance, according to Norway's election commission. Turnout was 76.3%, down from more than 78% in this nation of 5.3 million voted.

Norway appears set to replace Conservative government amid oil debate, preliminary results show

By Ivana Kottasová, CNN 

Norway appears set to put an end to the Conservative-led coalition government's eight years of rule, preliminary results from the country's parliamentary election showed on Monday — a shift that environmental advocates have long awaited as they push to end the country's dependence on its lucrative oil industry

.

© ALI ZARE/NTB/AFP via Getty Images

 A billboard featuring an election poster of Norway's Prime Minister and leader of the conservative Hoyre party, Erna Solberg, on September 8, 2021.

The current government, headed by Prime Minister Erna Solberg, Norway's longest-ever serving PM, has refused to put an end date on fossil fuel production, planning for its continuation beyond 2050.

The election campaign period was heavily focused on climate and the country's fossil fuel production, following the release of a damming UN climate science report and a heatwave that scorched much of the country during the summer.

The initial results are not final, but in Norway, they give a fairly reliable picture of real results.

Projections by the Norwegian public broadcaster NRK TV based on partial results showed that the Labor Party was on track to win some 25% of the vote, which translates to roughly 48 seats in the 169-seat parliament, suggesting a center-left alliance is likely to replace the Conservative-led coalition.

The Labor Party, led by former foreign minister Jonas Gahr Støre, calls for a gradual transition from fossil fuels. However, it will likely need the support of the Green Party, or another such small, climate-friendly outfit, which have been campaigning for an phase-out of the country's huge oil and gas industries.

"We have three green parties in Norway -- the Socialist Party, the Liberal Party and the Green Party," said Lars-Henrik Paarup Michelsen, the director of the Norwegian Climate Foundation..

"The polls indicate that our next government will be led by the Labour party. However, Labour will need the votes of at least one green party in order to get a majority in Parliament.

"Everyone' expects that climate policy will be tightened after the election," he added.

Both the Socialists and the Green Party posted gains in the election, according to the preliminary results. The Greens were poised to secure seven seats in the parliament, a major gain from 2017 when it had just one. The Socialists appeared to be on track to get 13 seats, two more then during the last election

"If this is close to the final result, it's a sharp increase for the Greens, it's a historic result for them and it will give them much bigger platform," said Fay Farstad, a senior researcher at CICERO, a Norwegian institute for interdisciplinary climate research.

However, Farstad added that the result is more nuanced, given the gains posted by the Center Party. "They support Norway's climate goals and agreements, but where they differ is on the issue on CO2 tax increases, they ran on the platform of rejecting it," she added.

Norway is Europe's largest oil producer and the world's third-biggest natural gas exporter. Even with political will, phasing out fossil fuels is unlikely to be quick.

Norwegians enjoy a high quality of life, largely because of its $1.1 trillion sovereign wealth fund -- the biggest in the world -- which invests revenues from the oil industry. Its website displays a real-time value of the fund, so Norwegians can marvel at their seemingly ever-growing riches.

But as the world becomes more conscious of the climate crisis and transitions to renewable sources of energy, there has been a concerted push in the country against the continued exploration of fossil fuels.

"There have been many debates over the course of the last year and a half or two years, but when the [Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change] report came in August, just as the campaign was picking up steam, it really did put climate change at the center of attention," Ole Jacob Sending, director of research at the Norwegian Institute of International Affairs think tank, told CNN.

While climate change itself is not up for a debate in Norway -- all of the main political parties acknowledge climate change is real and already happening -- the question of how to handle it is.

"Climate is now one of the main fault lines in Norwegian politics ... there are disagreements on what are the best policies and how urgent is it that we take action," Sending said.

"It's less of an elephant in the room now ... there's an increased recognition that Norway is having a challenge."

Norway's approach to the climate crisis has been paradoxical for some time. It has pledged to become carbon neutral by 2030, way ahead of many other rich countries. The US, UK and the EU are all hoping to achieve net zero by mid-century. The country is also offering generous subsidies for electric cars and investing heavily into renewable energy sources.

But the oil and gas sector remains crucial for the Norwegian economy, employing 200,000 people -- between 6% and 7% of its workforce -- and accounting for 14% of GDP and 41% of exports.

While scientists say emissions need to be halved over this decade, largely by phasing out fossil fuels, Norway has not set a date to even end the exploration of oil and gas.

The Norwegian Petroleum Directorate said earlier this year that it expected oil production to keep rising in the next few years, from 1.7 million barrels a day in 2020 to just over 2 million a day in 2025

Norway's center-left gains after vote; climate is key issue

COPENHAGEN, Denmark (AP) — The center-left bloc in Norway appears to have won Monday’s general election, according to the first official projection, which shows the ruling Conservatives would lose power after a campaign dominated by climate change and the future of the country’s oil and gas exploration industry.

© Provided by The Canadian Press

With a projection based on a preliminary count of nearly 52% of the vote, the Labor Party and its two allies — the Socialist Left and the euroskeptic Center Party — appear to have won power. The left-leaning side in the Norwegian parliament would get a total of 101 seats while the current government would get 67 of the Stortinget assembly's 169 seats, according to the Norwegian election commission. A majority is 85 seats.

As Norway’s largest party, Labor will try to form a coalition government and its chief, 61-year-old Jonas Gahr Stoere, is poised to become Norway’s next leader. The Scandinavian country is not member of the European Union.

Labor has promised an industrial policy that will funnel support to new green industries, like wind power, “blue hydrogen” that uses natural gas to produce an alternative fuel, and carbon capture and storage, which seeks to bury carbon dioxide under the ocean.

“We will take our time to talk to the other parties, and we respect that this has not been decided until it is decided,” Gahr Stoere, told his party before the polling stations closed Monday. In the 2013 election, Labor was ousted from power, enabling the Conservatives' Erna Solberg to become prime minister and Norway’s longest-serving leader.

Any post-election horse trading is likely to be fraught for the Labor Party and Gahr Stoere. The Socialist Left won’t offer its support lightly and the Center Party is also demanding a more aggressive approach toward shifting to renewable energy.

The campaign focused on the North Sea oil and gas that has helped make Norway one of the world's wealthiest countries. But fears about climate change have put the future of the industry in doubt. The country’s biggest industry is responsible for over 40% of exports and directly employs more than 5% of the workforce.

On the other hand, Norwegians are among the most climate-conscious consumers in the world, with most new car purchases now being electric.

Most of Norway's oil and gas still comes from mature areas in the North Sea, but most of the country's untapped reserves are in the Barents Sea, above the Arctic Circle. That is a red line for environmentalists, who could play a crucial role in securing a majority government.

Gahr Stoere is a former civil servant who was elected to the Stortinget in 2009. He also owns a large part of his family’s company, and most the fortune there comes from the sale in 1977 of a Norwegian company that made cast iron stoves and fireplaces.

Stoere also served as foreign minister from 2005-2013 under then-Prime Minister Jens Stoltenberg and took over the reins of the party when Stoltenberg became NATO's secretary general.

Nearly 3.9 million Norwegians were eligible to vote and more than 1.6 million of them voted in advance, according to Norway’s election commission.

___

Follow all AP stories on climate change at https://apnews.com/hub/Climate.

Jan M. Olsen, The Associated Press