Norway Rejects Plan for Fish Farming on 'World's Largest Ship'
Norway's Directorate of Fisheries has rejected Pure Atlantic's application for 45 salmon farming development licenses, arguing that the plan did not bring significant innovation to the industry, it said in a letter dated May 16.Pure Atlantic had planned to construct what would have been the world's largest ship, some 500 meters (546 yards) long and 90 meters (98 yards) wide, to house a giant fish farm off the coast of Norway.Development licenses are part of an initiative by authorities to spur growth in Norway's salmon production.Norway is the world's largest fish farmer, with
Norway Wants to Build Floating Wind Farms
Norway's energy minister will meet with companies on Wednesday to discuss the potential construction of offshore floating wind farms, he told Reuters on Friday.The meeting is the first concrete step to spur development of offshore floating power generation, after the government said last December it would seek to accommodate such plans."Wednesday next week I will have a meeting with different stakeholders in offshore wind and discuss both the opening process and the regulatory framework," Terje Soeviknes said.Unlike offshore wind turbines that are fixed to the seabed, floating wind parks
Norway Awards Oil Permits to 11 Firms in Arctic Licensing Round
Norway has awarded 12 oil and gas exploration licences to Equinor and 10 other companies focused mostly on the Arctic, where Oslo believes it has the greatest potential for significant new discoveries.Nine of the licences are located in the Barents Sea and three in the Norwegian Sea off central Norway, the Ministry of Oil and Energy said on Monday."This licensing round confirms that the oil companies see opportunities for further profitable petroleum activity in the north," Oil and Energy Minister Terje Soeviknes said in a statement.Equinor, formerly known as Statoil, was awarded five
Norway Begins Laying Power Link to Germany
Norway's power grid operator Statnett said on Tuesday it has started laying a subsea power interconnector to Germany, with commercial operations expected to start in 2020 as previously planned. The first part of the cable, between Norway and the Danish sector of the North Sea, will be installed this summer, it added. Once completed, the cable to Germany will be 623 kilometres long. (Reporting by Nerijus Adomaitis)
NASA, Norway to Develop Arctic Laser-Ranging Station
the size and shape of Earth, its orientation in space, the exact location of points on its surface and how these locations change over time. Space geodesy has a decades-long history at NASA due to its important role in the positioning and navigation of satellites. “This partnership with Norway is an important step for NASA and the scientific community in building the next generation space geodetic network,” said Benjamin Phillips, program scientist for NASA's Space Geodesy Program in Washington. “This network provides fundamental data for satellite and spacecraft navigation
Norway to Buy ThyssenKrupp Subs
Norway plans to sign a deal to buy four submarines from ThyssenKrupp in 2019, Norwegian defence minister Marie Eriksen Soreide said on Tuesday during a visit with her German counterpart to a German marine base. German media has reported the four submarines will cost 4.3 billion euros ($5.06 billion). The purchase of the ships is part of a cooperation agreement between the two countries, under which Germany's armed forces will buy two identical submarines from Germany's ThyssenKrupp and missiles from Norway's Kongsberg. "We want to sign the deal in 2019 and get the first
Hopes Lifted for Norway-Scotland Power Cable Project
The prospects for a planned 1.4 gigawatt (GW) power interconnector linking Norway and Scotland have improved following the re-election of Norway's right-wing government this month, the project's chief said. NorthConnect's 650-km subsea cable could meet about a quarter of Scotland's peak demand with clean energy from Norwegian hydroelectric dams and wind turbines. Opposition Labour leader Jonas Gahr Stoere had said before the election he would not back the NorthConnect concession application if his party took power. "The election result is a positive result for NorthConnec
Norway's Arctic Oil Plan Violates Constitution, Lawsuit Says
Norway's plan for Arctic oil exploration is unconstitutional because it violates the right to a healthy environment, a lawyer for Greenpeace and the Nature and Youth environmental group told an Oslo court on Tuesday. The case is the first of its kind in Norway and says a 2015 oil licensing round in the Arctic that gave awards to Statoil , Chevron and others violates the constitution. Norway signed the 2016 Paris accord, which aims to end the fossil fuel era this century. The country is Western Europe's largest oil producer and oil and gas are its most important exports. Government lawyers say
Norway's Rising Subsea Stars
While Norway is down (courtesy of a two-year oil and gas slump) it certainly is not out. The Norwegian maritime and subsea pedigree extends centuries, and despite a momentary bump in the aquatic road, William Stoichevski uncovers some Rising Subsea Stars. The merging in May of installation and equipment giants Technip and FMC into TechnipFMC eclipsed some news, so you might have missed the brilliance of wellhead, tubular and downhole stars shining from the depths. Beyond the success of TechnipFMC business, Forsys, there’s the entrepreneurial activity of brilliant new and established
Norway Open to Offshore Floating Wind Power
Norway plans to open one or two offshore regions for construction of floating wind turbines, the Ministry of Petroleum and Energy said in a statement on Wednesday. "The government wishes to accommodate offshore wind power, in particular with demonstrations of floating wind turbines in mind," it said, adding that this should happen "as soon as possible." Norway is western Europe's top producer of oil and natural gas, and has so far lagged Nordic neighbours Denmark and Sweden in wind power developments. Reporting by Terje Solsvik
If Subsidized, Statoil Will Eye Norway's Offshore Wind
Norway's Statoil may take part in the country's first tender to build floating offshore wind turbines, as long as there are sufficient long-term subsidies, Chief Executive Eldar Saetre told Reuters on Tuesday. In December, Norway's Ministry of Petroleum and Energy said it planned to shortly open one or two offshore regions for construction of floating wind generation "If there are (offshore wind) opportunities in Norway being opened with a relevant incentive structure that makes it profitable, that's obviously something that we will assess," Saetre said on the sidelines of a conference.
Subsea 7 Bags Contracts Offshore Norway
Subsea 7 S.A. said it was awarded a contract from Statoil for the Johan Castberg field development, located 240 km from Hammerfest in Norway. The contract comprises the design, coating, fabrication and installation of a 53 km rigid flowline including 34 km of pipe-in-pipe flowline. Project Management and engineering will commence immediately at Subsea 7’s offices in Stavanger, Norway. Fabrication will take place at Subsea 7’s spoolbase at Vigra, Norway and offshore operations will be carried out in 2020. Subsea 7 did not specify the value of the contract, but
Subsea 7 Bags Offshore Norway Deal
award comprises the Engineering Procurement Construction Installation (EPCI) delivery of the pipeline and riser systems, and the transport and installation of subsea production systems and umbilical system. Fabrication of the pipeline will take place at Subsea 7’s spoolbase at Vigra, Norway. Project Management and engineering will commence immediately at Subsea 7’s offices in Stavanger, Norway. Offshore operations will take place in 2019 and 2020. Phil Simons, Subsea 7’s Vice President North Sea and Canada, said: “This sizeable contract award recognises our
West Phoenix to Drill in UK and Norway
Statoil and its partners have contracted the West Phoenix rig for exploration drilling on the U.K. and Norwegian continental shelves from the summer of 2018. The contract is awarded to the two Seadrill companies North Atlantic Drilling UK Ltd. and North Atlantic Norway Ltd. The semi-submersible rig West Phoenix will first drill an exploration well for the Ragnfrid North license on the Norwegian Continental Shelf (NCS), followed by three wells on the U.K. Continental Shelf (UKCS). The rig has been approved by authorities for use both on the NCS and UKCS. “We needed a high capacity
Norway's Planned Subsea Cable to UK May Be Canceled
NorthConnect, a planned private power cable between Norway and Scotland due to enter operations by 2023, could be cancelled as a result of Norway's adoption of the EU's latest energy legislation, the leader of the Norwegian parliament's energy committee said on Wednesday. If the 2-billion-euro project is to go ahead, it would need to be transferred to state-owned grid Statnett, Espen Barth Eide also said, a day ahead of a vote in parliament regarding Norway's adoption of the EU's third energy package. "It will have to be transferred to Statnett," Eide said. "It's
Ocean Autonomy: Norway to the Fore
coming within the grasps of ordinary citizens, as well as ocean scientists, looking to unlock the secrets of the deep.Part of the drive for these systems, in the oil and gas industry at least, is to reduce use of manned surface vessels, which are costly to operate and emit fumes, at best.A goal set for Norway’s Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU) is to reduce use of surface vessels by 80 percent in several oil and gas operations. The NTNU’s Center for Autonomous Marine Operations and Systems (AMOS) has the task of finding solutions to meet that goal, as well as targets to
Norway Launches New Licensing Round in Mature Offshore Areas
Norway will hold a new licensing round for its offshore oil and gas fields in already opened areas, further expanding the exploration acreage available to energy firms, the oil ministry said on Wednesday.Areas in the North Sea, the Norwegian Sea and the Barents Sea will be offered to oil companies, who have until September to submit their applications. The ministry plans to award licenses at the beginning of 2019, it said."Access to prospective exploration acreage is crucial in order to make new petroleum discoveries. New discoveries on the Norwegian continental shelf ensure value creation
