50 eventyrlige år Myhre times two Skremmer studentene Long-term Lien Kommentatoren Imaginative Maria Comprehensive Diskos

Safe enough? Photo: © Aker Solutions/Eva Gullerud Solutions/Eva Aker © Photo:

A JOURNAL FROM THE NORWEGIAN PETROLEUM DIRECTORATE NO 2 - 2015 2-2015 NORWEGIAN CONTINENTAL SHELF | 1 CONTENTS

NORWEGIAN A half-filled glass Photo: Sverre Chr Jarild 4 CONTINENTAL SHELF Many people are lining up to of the NCS. Almost as many as cheaper than it was two years predict the decline and fall of last year’s 47, these applicants are ago. And most oil market experts the Norwegian oil industry a few looking for new opportunities predict that prices will recover. years from now. Such thinking is despite the fall in oil prices. The question is when, not if. too short-term. And the deadline for applica- By its very nature, oil is a long- We don’t share that pessi- tions in the next regular licensing term business. Ten years usually mistic picture, even though the round – the 23rd in Norway’s oil pass between discovery and pro- A JOURNAL FROM THE industry faces challenges from oil history – expires in December. We duction. The profitability of a new Photo: Morten Berentsen 26 NORWEGIAN PETROLEUM prices and costs. It’s worth noting once again expect great interest. find is not determined by current DIRECTORATE that less than half the estimated So is everything in the garden prices, whatever some might resources on the NCS have been lovely? Of course not. We see that say. NO 2 - 2015 produced and sold. the companies are competing Responsible politicians and In our view, the glass is half- to cut costs and downsize their those who take a pessimistic view the NCS could contribute to a better-informed debate by taking VOLUME 12- 2 Talk up the industry a bit more note of this time frame. RESPONSIBLE PUBLISHER We’re also worried, at this Norwegian Petroleum Directorate full, not half-empty. But we, too, workforces. time of cost-cutting, that impor- P O Box 600 have been concerned for a long Every krone to be invested is tant expertise will deteriorate. NO-4003 Stavanger time about the costs, low efficien- keenly evaluated. Projects such There’s room to talk up an indus- Norway cy and overruns seen in recent as ones for improving recovery try as important as petroleum a Telephone: +47 51 87 60 00 years. from producing fields are being bit more. Don’t forget that the E-mail: [email protected] Almost 100 discoveries are postponed, along with a number engineers who’ll be helping to Photo: NTB Scanpix/Aftenposten 12 Photo: Emile Ashley 32 EDITORIAL TEAM being assessed for development of the new discoveries. operate Johan Sverdrup have Bjørn Rasen, editor or in line for such evaluation. This is critical for some, scarcely been born yet. Astri Sivertsen Many can be tied back to existing because the fields or transport Bente Bergøy fields from a new subsea instal- systems meant to handle the new The interview: Eldbjørg Vaage Melberg lation. resources have limited producing Rolf E Gooderham, English editor No less than 10 fields have lives. «The oil industry must also have two ideas in been sanctioned for development Our concern here means we its head at once» ...... 4 PRODUCTION or completed in recent years. Four will be paying particularly close Printer: Kai Hansen were brought on stream in 2014 attention to ensuring that work Piecing it together...... 10 Paper: Arctic Volume 200/130 g alone. commitments in the licences are Print run Norwegian: 10 000 The biggest, Johan Sverdrup, followed up. 50 years: Special path to safer working...... 13 Print run English: 1 500 is set to generate big government Other discoveries can com- Staying safe from the cuts...... 21 LAYOUT revenues for 50 years from 2019. fortably be put on hold until the Arne Bjørøen It will join the 81 fields – a record relevant area is better developed, Down with documentation ...... 24 – currently yielding oil and gas on and it will be possible to achieve SUBSCRIPTIONS the NCS. coordination gains. Myth-busters...... 26 www.npd.no.magazine Some 165 projects are under Today’s conditions are noth- Free of charge way or planned on these produc- ing new in the oil industry. NPD profile: Facts at his fingertips ...... 32 NORWEGIAN CONTINENTAL ers to boost their recovery factors Downturns have occurred before SHELF even further, and thereby increase in this cyclical sector. It has More data and better accessibility ...... 35 www.npd.no/en/Publications value creation for society beyond emerged strengthened each time the original estimates. by getting better control over Adding up to acclaim ...... 36 FOLLOW US ON TWITTER The government received costs and with the aid of recov- www.twitter/oljedir Rockshot: Tight formations...... 37 applications not long ago from ered oil prices. COVER PHOTO 43 oil companies who want to The cost picture has improved Bente Nyland Detecting dangerous moves ...... 38 © Aker Solutions/Eva Gullerud explore more in the mature areas – drilling a well, for example, is director general

2 | NORWEGIAN CONTINENTAL SHELF 2-2015 2-2015 NORWEGIAN CONTINENTAL SHELF | 3 The oil industry must also have two ideas in its head at once

Tord Lien accepts to some extent that new offshore developments may be postponed. But Norway’s petroleum and energy minister has little sympathy for delaying projects on existing fields where time-critical resources could be lost. He calls on the companies to make the necessary investments.

| Bjørn Rasen and Sverre Chr Jarild (photos)

4 | NORWEGIAN CONTINENTAL SHELF 2-2015 2-2015 NORWEGIAN CONTINENTAL SHELF | 5 We’ll make provision for value creation – over the long term.

ark clouds loom price expectation was in the big picture,” Lien says. “That necessary investment. Both which is dynamic by nature, and ing is what prospects Norway on a fine autumn revised national planning budget could encourage activity next the NPD and my ministry must structured so that it can adapt has for remaining a substantial day in Oslo in for 2014. year – we must maintain exper- then emphasise that we expect to change. There’s less need to gas supplier to other European the form of yet “Our forecast then was that tise and capacity in the industry. profitable projects to be imple- amend our regime than in many nations. Lien is an optimist. more negative oil prices would decline – but not “In a longer perspective, such mented.” other places.” “We obviously have the headlines in the by as much as they have done. work will contribute to realising He maintains that the gov- Lien does not think the resources and a fantastic infra- DNorwegian press. Statoil’s half- That’s naturally affected the more resources. That’s the lesson ernment has made this explicit Norwegian model should be structure built up over several year profits have halved. Lien is companies.” we can draw from history.” all along, and feels that the com- compared with that in Britain, decades. This delivers high regu- its biggest shareholder. But activity on the NCS panies “understand what we’re where adjustments have been larity, we have the expertise, The Progress Party politician remains at a high level in his- Research saying, and the dialogue with made, because the UK continen- and are a trusted exporter both seems in a buoyant mood as he torical terms, he points out, and Research and development plus [them] functions by and large.” tal shelf has a different resource as a nation and an industry. sits on the ministry’s reception emphasises that major invest- new blocks in the Barents Sea Lien observes that the base. Everything’s in place. desk, munching an apple and ments continue to be made in represent the long view. More government must show under- He sees drawbacks in per- “Our aim is to convey a taking snuff while saying farewell new and existing fields. immediately, newspaper articles standing that not all commit- mitting active use of tax provi- clear message to the European to his previous visitors. “At the same time, parts of are calling for action on current ments can be met at times when sions as a countercyclical meas- buyers. We expect the signals His good humour is not the industry are experiencing tax problems. undermined by – relatively a much tougher time than the At the same time, rigs are speaking – brief downturns. overall figures for investment being stacked and a certain Norway’s oil sector has been might suggest,” he accepts. number of developments have through troughs before in its “Things have definitely been postponed. Capital is being 50-year history. And the lesson changed. We were worried rationed by the oil companies. is that something can be done about finding enough people That could hit time-critical about it. to crew all the rigs. The position projects, which must be imple- “I appreciate that Statoil is has reversed today, and is very mented now to ensure that their doing what it’s said it will – work- demanding for the rig and petro- resources are recovered before ing purposefully to adapt to a leum sector. necessary platforms and trans- different price position,” Lien “Getting down the cost per port systems shut down. comments. “That emerges from barrel of oil produced is abso- Quite a few of these projects the figures published today. lutely essential. We must recover are socio-economically profit- “Prices have changed con- more resources in a shorter time able, but do not seem able to siderably over a relatively short and with a lower investment.” surmount investment constraints Long-term. “We’ll make provi- time. We’d all naturally prefer Lien’s concerns extend in the companies. sion for value creation – over the them to be different. But the beyond the petroleum sector. The question then is whether long term,” says petroleum and bottom line is still in the black. He is also responsible for a huge energy minister Tord Lien. “This the minister intends to use a Given the present conditions, my hydropower output and other includes providing access to new carrot-and-stick approach. But he impression is that the company is renewable energy in Norway. exploration acreage, for exam- maintains that this is already in doing good work.” And he emphasises that the oil ple. That’s why work on the 23rd place within the framework. licensing round is so important.” industry must also have two “We’ve created a system Bumpy ideas in its head at once. where a field development The minister has been in the job “We must make provision for which is worthwhile socio- capacity in the industry is under ure. What then happens when emerging from their systems for two years. It must have been long-term value creation. This economically will also be com- heavy pressure. oil prices again reach USD 100 – which are more politically con- a bumpy ride so far. He gives the includes providing access to new mercially profitable. I don’t think “But that isn’t the case per barrel – or plummet to USD trolled than here in a number of following status report for the exploration acreage, for exam- anyone would disagree with that. today. The obligations inherent 20? EU countries – to confirm that NCS: ple. That’s why work on the 23rd “However, you could in being a player on the NCS “Our tax model is good and this commodity will have a sub- “Two years ago, we were licensing round is so important.” undoubtedly ask whether the remain unchanged. And I expect predictable, and enjoys broad stantial role. worried that the level of activity This exercise includes blocks field projects are profitable them to be followed up.” support among politicians and “Both the EU member states was too high and that this would in Barents Sea South-East, the enough to make it into the He is not prepared to go into in the industry,” the minister and the European Commission create challenges. The concerns area acquired by Norway after investment portfolios at the the tax position in any depth maintains. are on the right track, and I’m are different today. a boundary settlement was companies. because it does not fall under his looking forward expectantly to “We’ve moved from a period reached with Russia. “We regard the postpone- ministry. While not claiming that Record the new EU gas strategy. of sharp growth lasting to 2013- A treaty on the dividing line ment of new field developments Norway’s tax model is perfect, Bright spots are to be found “This will probably be pub- 14, which contributed to an and collaboration between the with a degree of understand- he feels it is better than in most even in these difficult time. The lished in the first quarter of unsustainable development in two countries in the Barents Sea ing. But it’s not okay when such other oil-producing countries. Norwegian gas machine has set 2016, and I believe gas – includ- costs – even when oil prices were was signed on 15 September delays involve existing fields with “It ensures a good distri- a record for exports in both gas- ing ours – will continue to high. 2010 by foreign ministers Jonas time-critical resources. bution of risk and revenues eous and liquid form this year. occupy a big place in Europe’s “The price level we have now Gahr Støre and Sergei Lavrov. “These could be lost if the between government and With today’s energy mix, the energy supplies for a long time was difficult to envisage then. “A commitment to petroleum companies fail to make the companies. We have a model question many people are ask- to come.” The first time I presented an oil research is also important in the

6 | NORWEGIAN CONTINENTAL SHELF 2-2015 2-2015 NORWEGIAN CONTINENTAL SHELF | 7 We still need oil, and Norway has just under one per cent of the world’s remaining crude resources.

“I’ve made it clear to the EU not only in climate terms but taken on this role, and are that its plans should extend to also socially and economically. “speaking out better and more 2030-40 in order to provide the And we must produce enough clearly than before.” right investment incentives on energy to continue moving hun- the NCS. Further capital spend- dreds of millions of people out Names ing on infrastructure will call for of poverty.” A relevant question for Lien a big effort.” Norwegian gas is definitely where plain talking is concerned Lien sees big scope for part of the solution, Lien says. He is the government’s policy with Norwegian gas. It is public identifies two important reasons regard to field names on the knowledge that the big Dutch why a clear disconnect between NCS, after a change in practice Groningen field is having prob- economic growth and green- by his predecessor. lems in maintaining production. house gas emissions can now Ola Borten Moe from the That also applies to a number seen for the first time since the Centre Party dropped the habit of other smaller sources of Industrial Revolution. of using labels drawn from Norse European gas. One relates to Chinese history and mythology in favour “Where we’re concerned, this growth, which has moved from of well-known parliamentarians is about maintaining a high level being driven by transport and such as Johan Sverdrup. of exports for decades to come,” industry to a focus on services. The petroleum and energy Lien observes. “The government The other is that the Americans minister has the final word on will lay the basis for this. are replacing coal with gas. such names, and has not made “That will ensure the re­­ These factors explain half the any change in approach pub- sources we have in the ground changes which have been seen, lic. But he recently approved a continue to create value for he says. development entitled Maria. the benefit of our children and “We still need oil, and Lien is less concerned with grandchildren, while helping our Norway has just under one per this issue than Moe. “It makes friends in Europe with the reli- cent of the world’s remaining sense that field names convey able gas deliveries they need to crude resources. Some people a meaning in the public mind. reach their climate targets.” then ask whether we should But I believe the state ought to shut down the country’s biggest refrain from managing such mat- Negative source of value creation by far, ters in detail. Gas enjoys a greener image which employs people all along “The industry should be able in the rest of Europe than it the cost, to save the world from to think for itself. We have formal does in Norway. Petroleum has one per cent of its oil. authority to decide, but I’d nev- increasingly becoming a nega- “It would be extremely ertheless urge the companies to tive term among sections of the unwise politically, and lead to pick labels which mean some- Norwegian public, and is dis- our production being replaced thing.” cussed in terms very different by oil from other suppliers who His attention is more con- from a few years ago. cause larger emissions per unit centrated on the challenges Lien says that the govern- produced than we do.” currently facing the industry – ment and the industry must He believes that people’s and the exercise of government highlight the value created in understanding of the signifi- authority. the form of revenues, employ- cance of this industry is prob- “In times like these, the gov- ment, and spin-offs where ener- ably greater now, with oil prices ernment – and the NPD is the gy plays a central role in social around USD 50 per barrel, than most immediate agency here development. it was two years ago when they – should meet the industry in a “Oil and gas are contribut- were double that. manner which is firm but based Gives results. “A commitment to petroleum research is also impor- ing to a cost-effective energy But that is not enough. The on dialogue. tant in the big picture,” says petro- system which is fundamental for minister says he has told chief “That’s more important than leum and energy minister Tord Lien. growth, welfare and prosperity,” executives in the supplies sector ever. We in the ministry must do “That could encourage activity next he notes. and at the operators that they the same. Despite demanding year – we must maintain expertise “The industry and this gov- must become more visible in the times, we must do the job prop- and capacity in the industry. ernment take the climate issues public debate to boost under- erly so that we help to ensure “In a longer perspective, such work will contribute to realising seriously. We need to overcome standing of the industry among the right investments are made.” more resources. That’s the lesson two major challenges simultane- opinion-formers and a larger we can draw from history.” ously. proportion of the public. “One is to build an energy He says he is pleased that system which is sustainable more industry leaders have

8 | NORWEGIAN CONTINENTAL SHELF 2-2015 2-2015 NORWEGIAN CONTINENTAL SHELF | 9 1980s then gave the geologists belonging to others, fields with development – more than NOK 2 Piecing it together an opportunity to interpret the spare capacity are duty-bound billion below the original invest- structure in a different way. to make a detailed evaluation of ment estimated. Their re-assessment con- such requests. Part of the saving was cluded that the oil-bearing zones Tie-backs to existing plat- achieved through optimisation were at their thickest in the south- forms and other infrastructure in the planning process, but ern and northern flanks of the make sense both for developers Dijkgraaf does not deny that reservoir, which has a saddle-like and for the taxpayers who bear developers get a lot for their formation in the centre. the bulk of cost. money now that suppliers are That proved to be the case, “Achieving this involves find- hungry for orders. and the first well proved 60 mil- ing a formula for sharing risk and The Maria licence, for exam- lion barrels of oil to the south. profit,” explains Dijkgraaf, who ple, was able to charter Odfjell The same amount was found by describes the negotiations as Drilling’s Deepsea Stavanger rig for an appraisal well drilled on the complex, wide-ranging and time- 574 days at a cost of roughly NOK northern flank in 2012. consuming. 1.5 billion – considerably less than Furthermore, studies of the Statoil is the operator for all the rate two years ago. reservoir and drainage strategies the installations involved in the There has been no question allowed another 60 million barrels Maria project, but the counter- of postponing a development in to be matured – revealing a field parties to the negotiations were the hope of securing even more containing some 180 million bar- other partners who formed vary- favourable prices. Given today’s rels of oil equivalent. ing constellations in each licence. oil prices and the investment cli- The water depth meant that Many sessions were also mate, however, Dijkgraaf admits the licensees opted for a subsea required with the government that the licensees would not have development. Two approaches in order to reach a settlement. considered an FPSO. were studied, including a tie-back During the final phase alone, “That solution was challeng- to an existing platform nearby Dijkgraaf met the NPD and the ing when oil prices were USD 110 A floating production, storage Ministry of Petroleum and Energy per barrel, and would certainly and offloading (FPSO) unit was 35 times. have been out of the question the alternative, but Wintershall when they were down to USD 45. quickly found that this would an New ground So we had to be creative.” expensive solution. The project director feels that However, a round of tie-back Wintershall broke new ground in discussions with the partners on many respects with its approach, the nearby producing fields also and believes that many others will made it clear that none could follow its lead. Maria offer everything Maria needed. Kalmar Ildstad, deputy direc- This field contains 180 million bar- tor general of the NPD, and Tove rels of oil equivalent, including a Something Francke, who was responsible small quantity of gas. It is due to However, each could provide for work on the Maria PDO at the come on stream in the fourth quar- something. Kristin was able to directorate, also think that many ter of 2018. The development solution com- process the oil, Heidrun offered more satellite projects will be pur- prises two subsea templates, both assistance with water injection, sued on the NCS. with four well slots. Two producers Bit by bit. Wintershall describes the negotiations with the neighbouring licences as complex, wide-ranging and time-consuming. But everything and the Åsgard B platform was in The majority of the 100 or so and a water injection well will be is now in place for bringing Maria on stream in the fourth quarter of 2018. (Illustration: Wintershall) a position to support gas lift. discoveries which remain to be drilled through each of them. The last of these needed to be developed off Norway are too Tie-backs involve the wellstream channelled through the Tyrihans small to support a stand-alone being piped to Kristin for process- Developing the Maria oil discovery would probably never have D subsea facility. Finally, Åsgard C solution. ing, injection water coming from Heidrun, and supplies for gas lift had the capacity to accept Maria However, many lie close to got off the ground if operator Wintershall had thought along being provided by Åsgard B via oil for export. existing infrastructure in the Tyrihans D. | Alf Inge Molde traditional lines. Luckily, imagination was given free rein. So the challenge for the pro- North and Norwegian Seas, and Processed oil will then be trans- ject was to determine how much could tie into this as capacity ported to Åsgard for storage and had to be spent on each instal- becomes available in order to loading into shuttle tankers, while plan for development Dijkgraaf at the Norwegian arm big producing fields such as lation to serve Maria. And more achieve a profitable project. the gas is exported through the and operation (PDO) of of the Germany company says Åsgard, Heidrun and Kristin. And than 100 kilometres of pipeline That approach has the added Åsgard Transport system to Kårstø this field was approved the detailed preliminary work the prospect was first drilled in would have to be laid. benefit of helping to extend pro- north of Stavanger. The licensees in the field are by the Ministry of was essential for turning the 1986, but without much success. Once the jigsaw had been duction from fields where new Wintershall (operator) with 50 per APetroleum and Energy on 4 development into a reality at all. laid, however, Wintershall and its satellite fields connect to their cent, Petoro with 30 per cent and September, despite the biggest Semi-submersible Songa Thin partners found themselves with facilities. Centrica Resources (Norge) with 20 oil recession since the late 1990s. Delta drilled the discovery well, This earlier well targeted the per- a much cheaper solution than “Maria has set a Norwegian per cent. Maria lies 230 kilometres 6406/3-8, in 300 metres of water ceived top of the reservoir, and installing a dedicated FPSO. And it record for the number of tie-ins Subject to government approval, from land and 25 kilometres east during the summer of 2010. That should have yielded the most was technically feasible. for a single development, and a transaction due to be completed of the Kristin field on the Halten was two years after production crude. But the oil-bearing strata “We think we’ve been demonstrates that much is pos- in late 2015 will transfer a 15-per- Bank in the Norwegian Sea, and licence 475 BS was issued in the proved thin, and the licence was extremely creative,” emphasises sible if the willingness to collabo- cent interest to Tellus Petroleum from Wintershall, which remains the the process leading to the PDO 2008 awards in predefined areas. therefore relinquished. Dijkgraaf. rate is present,” says Ildstad. operator. was demanding. The Halten Bank is no fron- New three-dimensional According to Norway’s Wintershall expects to spend But project director Hugo tier region. Neighbours include seismic data unavailable in the regulations on using installations a total of NOK 15.3 billion on the 10 | NORWEGIAN CONTINENTAL SHELF 2-2015 2-2015 NORWEGIAN CONTINENTAL SHELF | 11 Building stone by stone

Our last issue took a look back at Norway’s oil past, 50 years after the first licensing round on the NCS. We now look at the story of safety in this sec- tor, where trust between employ- ees, employers and government has been a red thread. The cost of carelessness has proved very high. Many peo- ple remember the Alexander L Kielland accident from 1980, and even more recall the Deepwater Horizon disaster in the Gulf of Special path to Mexico during 2010. At a time of big cost cuts, eve- ryone agrees that savings cannot safer working be made at the expense of work on safety. We ask how much is good enough. The offshore sector is one of the safest places to work in Another article brings togeth- Norway today. But that has not always been the case, and er father and son Eldar and Aslak history shows just how bad things can be when they first Myhre – the first a former union go wrong. colossus from the Kværner group

and the other now head of the | Astri Sivertsen National Library of Norway. These two high-profile fig- Key figures from the history of oil city Stavanger. Former ures share their thoughts about the law-of-the-sea minister Jens Evensen (1), former Statoil CEOs developments they have participated Arve Johnsen (2), Harald Norvik (9) and Helge Lund (10), first Norwegian petroleum and energy minister Bjartmar Gjerde (3), in since Stavanger left the canning former mayor Arne Rettedal (7), and former top NPD staffers business to enter the oil age. They Fredrik Hagemann (8), Gunnar Berge (5) and Farouk Al-Kasim (6) talk a lot about the significance of the – while 19th century novelist Alexander Kielland (4) looms in the background. (Illustration: Roar Hagen) Rosenberg shipyard and Norwegian mentality.

Accident which appalled Norway. Only the four remaining pontoons on Alexander L Kielland were visible after it turned turtle on 27 March 1980. (Photo: NTB Scanpix/Aftenposten 12 | NORWEGIAN CONTINENTAL SHELF 2-2015 2-2015 NORWEGIAN CONTINENTAL SHELF | 13 t may be a bit excessive the cornerstone of the Working to claim that explaining Environment Act passed in 1977, Norway’s offshore safety which Lindøe says encountered regime to foreigners is much resistance when it came to always a problem, says be extended to the NCS. Preben Hempel Lindøe. But “This produced an exacting thisI presents at least a challenge. confrontation between American “People who’re used to a and Norwegian work cultures, more traditional form of regula- and set its stamp on many of the tion find it difficult to grasp how labour conflicts which occurred our system functions,” says the in the early years.” professor emeritus of risk man- agement and societal safety at Pioneer the University of Stavanger. During the pioneer years from A few years ago, he was the mid-1960s, historians have involved in the launch of an found that the risk of a fatal international book project on accident offshore was eight managing risk in the oil and gas times greater than in the rest of industry. Norwegian industry. An American colleague was People were killed in falls unable to understand how such a or crushed by dropped objects. tough sector could be regulated They died in helicopter crashes or through framework regulations suffocated from lack of breathing which place responsibility for gas when diving in deep water. safety on the companies them- A total of 82 workers lost selves. their lives between 1965 and But two days in a Stavanger 1978, more than half of them hotel, meeting unions, the during the development of the Norwegian Oil and Gas Ekofisk field from 1971 to 1977. Association and the Petroleum All that happened before the Safety Authority Norway (PSA) great disaster of 27 March 1980, gave him the answer. when the Alexander L Kielland “This is a small world where accommodation rig (flotel) people know each other, and turned turtle in the North Sea. there’s a level of trust in the sys- Killing 123 people, this acci- tems which has been built up dent horrified government and over a long time,” Lindøe notes. public opinion alike and was crucial to the development of Forged Norway’s safety regulations and This “tripartite” trust between organisation. unions, employers and govern- Three decades after ment was forged in the Second Alexander L Kielland, in April 2010, World War, explains the professor, the biggest offshore disaster of who wrote his PhD on internal modern times occurred with the control in land-based enterprises. Deepwater Horizon rig in the US When Norway was being Gulf of Mexico. rebuilt after the German occupa- A blowout in a well on the tion of 1940-45, people in key Macondo field caused this unit Big forces. Crew on anchorhandler REM Gambler positions knew and trusted each to catch fire and sink, with the working to release Bredford Dolphin. (Photo: NTB other from the resistance move- death of 11 people and an oil Scanpix/Samfoto) ment. leak which lasted 87 days before Tripartite collaboration was it was finally plugged.

14 | NORWEGIAN CONTINENTAL SHELF 2-2015 2-2015 NORWEGIAN CONTINENTAL SHELF | 15 Paradoxically, the crew of the rig a rule, Lindøe explains, it will also be had been celebrating a long period of responsible for the consequences if injury-free operation on the day that this is not implemented. the blowout happened. Requiring the companies to Lindøe explains that the safety set their own standards means the system in the USA was such that responsibility rests with them. That inspectors could arrive unannounced is the nub of the Norwegian regime, by helicopter on a facility, bearing which may not be so easy for outsid- long checklists. ers to understand. “But the question is what such “Our system calls for expertise and lists actual reveal,” he observes. “They self-awareness, and in that respects give you no insight into the organisa- makes big demands on the enterpris- High up. Rope access technicians pre- tion and how the system is built up. es,” the professor notes. pare to change lifeboats on Oseberg You get white spaces on the map, It has transpired that many small East. (Photo: NTB Scanpix/Samfoto) particularly at the interface between foreign companies can feel uncertain different operators.” and often want to see clearer rules, he This is where the NPD initially says. This is one reason for the grow- and later the PSA have led the way ing use of consultants offshore. the various sides. This emerged, however, the directorate began to 2000, and trust between government and by investigating the connections The trust-based internal control for example from the NPD’s 2000 agitate for something to be done. companies hung by a thread. Fresh action between technology and organisa- system also calls for a high level of annual report. The NPD’s safety division was needed. tion. expertise at the regulator if the indus- It contained a sharp warning reported at the time to the Ministry They have also challenged the try is to have confidence in its deci- that the previously positive trend of Local Government and Labour, Significance industry to discuss safety issues sions. in the level of petroleum-industry and Tormod Hermansen – its top Two innovations from this period have openly, Lindøe notes. “Not necessarily That is a big problem in a num- risk appeared to have reversed. The civil servant – sparked a complete acquired great significance – the annual sur- in public, but through dialogue meet- ber of other countries, says Lindøe. NPD said it could not accept that shake-up. vey of trends in risk level in the petroleum ings and technical seminars. That’s a Official regulators there are unable this manifested itself in the form In addition to the introduction very different approach.” to recruit staff with sufficient ability of a larger number of serious acci- of Norway’s first Petroleum Act, the The PSA checks that safety sys- because the work has low status. dents. internal control principle applied tems in the companies are consistent, Financial pressures have also led “Developments had moved in a by the NPD since the late 1970s was and that all decisions can be traced. to a dramatic scaling back of regula- negative direction for several years, formalised in a royal decree. That cannot be done simply with tion in many countries, while the and the time had come to speak The number of agencies checklists, since everything usually Norwegian government has been will- out,” says Magne Ognedal, who involved on the safety side was looks fine on the surface. ing to maintain the number of regula- joined the NPD in 1974 and became whittled down to just three – the tory personnel. its safety director in 1980. NPD, the predecessor of today’s He subsequently headed the Norwegian Environment Agency, Performance He adds that Norway’s regula- tions have largely been framed by PSA after it had been separated and the Norwegian Board of Health. Rather than prescribing in detail what from the NPD in 2004 until his According to Ognedal, this equipment is required and how work engineers and people with practical experience. “Whether you’re a well retirement in 2013, and has made greatly simplified administration should be done, the Norwegian regu- a stronger mark on the NCS safety and follow-up of offshore safety. lations are performance-based (or specialist in Statoil or the PSA, you know what you’re talking about. You regime than any other individual. “The 1985 reform was crucial, and functional). Good progress was achieved laid the basis for subsequent pro- In other words, they specify safety speak the same language, and try to find sensible solutions.” after a regulatory reform in 1985, gress.” targets or functions and leave it to the he recalls. Before then, the NPD had By the late 1990s, however, companies to establish management been merely one agency among the curves were starting to move systems which meet them – with Conflicts many with a formal responsibility in the wrong direction. The NPD great freedom to choose appropriate The Norwegian system may be based for offshore safety. was sharply critical of operator solutions. on trust and openness, but that In the wake of the serious acci- Norsk Hydro after a fatal accident Escape chute. An important part When the government prescribes does not exclude conflicts between of offshore evacuation equipment. dents which were taking place, on Oseberg East on Christmas Eve (Photo: NTB Scanpix/Samfoto) Not an individual responsibility. Preben H Lindøe holds the bannister to please the photographer. (Photo: 16 | NORWEGIAN CONTINENTAL SHELF 2-2015 2-2015Arne NORWEGIAN Bjørøen) CONTINENTAL SHELF | 17 Major accident defined A major accident means an acute incident such as a major spill, fire or explosion which immediately or subsequently entails multiple serious personal injuries and/or loss of human lives, serious harm to the environment and/or loss of major financial assets (Source: PSA).

Accident statistics A total of 44 people were killed at work in Norway last year. The four industries with the largest number of fatalities were con- struction (11), agriculture, forestry and fish- ing (eight), transport and storage (eight) and industry (six). The last fatal accident on the NCS was in 2009. (Sources: Norwegian Labour Inspection Authority, PSA)

123 lives lost. The Alexander L Kielland after Mexican Gulf disaster. Deepwater it had been righted. (Photo: NTB Scanpix/ Horizon in flames. (Photo: NTB Aftenposten Scanpix/AP Photo)

activity (RNNP) and the Safety Lindøe believes to be unique for ment, employers and unions. a very good job in that connec- been halved yet again and has Unions here have a very differ- Forum. Norway. Other nations lack such Ognedal highlights efforts tion,” Ognedal says. This work lain in recent years at an annual ent position than in the UK, for Various indicators had long an integrated factual base. to cut hydrocarbon leaks on the began with an extensive study total of roughly six-nine inci- instance.” been used to measure the level The advantage of the RNNP NCS, which can have very seri- of the reasons for these leaks. dents. of safety, but the RNNP report is that it provides a shared ous consequences for both peo- That was followed by a num- According to Ognedal, tripar- Major accidents has been issued every year since understanding of reality which ple and the environment, as an ber of measures to rectify the tite collaboration and common Over the half-century Norway the start of the new millennium all the parties can agree on. That example of the way the system causes identified – right down to arenas such as the Safety Forum has been pursuing oil and gas by the NPD and later the PSA. eliminates any war of words works. the level of teaching people to have proved very important for operations, safety work has This overview draws on data about the facts. The RNNP report When the RNNP process tighten flanges correctly. reducing risk in the petroleum largely been directed at avoiding from such sources as the opera- accordingly also lays the basis revealed a very negative devel- Efforts were regularly report- industry. And both reflect a major accidents. tor companies, the Norwegian for taking necessary action. opment for such incidents, the ed back to and followed up in model developed unilaterally by And that is natural enough, Civil Aviation Authority and the All sides of the industry issue was raised in the forum. the forum. The result was a halv- Norway on its own special terms. given the potentially disastrous helicopter operators. have met regularly in the Safety The trend had to be reversed, ing in hydrocarbon leaks from “The roles played by the consequences of a gas blowout Several research teams Forum since 2001, regularising and the industry accepted about 40 in 2000 to roughly 20 various oil-sector participants or a design error for human life, have been involved in develop- the less formalised meetings responsibility. five years later. differ from other countries,” he the environment and society in ing the methodology, which held earlier between govern- “Norwegian Oil and Gas did Since then, the figure has says. “They lack the same basis. general.

18 | NORWEGIAN CONTINENTAL SHELF 2-2015 2-2015 NORWEGIAN CONTINENTAL SHELF | 19

Lindøe points to In Lindøe’s view, is also high, with safety in research which has shown Norway’s petroleum indus- this sector usually regarded that such accidents usually try has been a pioneer with as the responsibility of the have complex causes involv- new methods of thinking individual farmer and their ing the interaction between and practising safety. That family. Staying safe humans, organisation and has made it a model and a “Offshore safety is a technology, and are gener- reference for other sectors in national concern,” Lindøe ally the outcome of a chain society. comments. “We have histori- of decisions at many levels. cal examples that trust has from the cuts That makes it meaning- Contrast been very fragile at times, less to assign responsibil- “Compared with other and that major accidents ity for safety to individuals Norwegian industries, safety have lurked just out of sight. working offshore, despite on the NCS is good,” he “Such incidents and their the trend a few years ago to maintains. And the contrast consequences are precisely Everyone agrees that cost savings on the focus on employee behav- with a business like fishing is the considerations which iour. striking. make it defensible to main- NCS must not be made at the expense of While Lindøe accepts By comparing deaths in tain such a high level of this is important enough, he 1990-2005, Lindøe estab- safety in the oil industry.” safety. But that poses the question of how says that safety can never be lished that – based on work- much is good enough. individualised or reduced to years – a fisherman is 12 a hunt for scapegoats when times more likely to suffer | Astri Sivertsen an accident occurs. a fatal accident than an off- Preventing and limiting shore employee. That figure the scope of possible inci- rises to 25 when helicopter dents calls for the incorpora- accidents are excluded. tion of technical, operational This reflects culture and and organisational barriers. history, the professor argues. The industry must adopt Fishermen appreciate that the precautionary princi- they have a dangerous pro- ple, with both companies fession. Nor are they willing and government work- to accept an outside author- ing systematically to learn ity telling them how to do from accidents in order to their job. improve systems continu- The number of accidents ously. in Norwegian agriculture

“It’s difficult to quantify Deepwater Horizon disaster “the traditional measures”. something which hasn’t in the Gulf of Mexico, for These include cut- happened,” Magne example, already exceeds ting exploration activities Ognedal responds when USD 50 billion (NOK 400 and maintenance work confronted with claims billion) even before the – but reducing the lat- that Norway’s offshore compensation settlements ter presents a challenge safety regime is too are complete. to health, safety and the expensive. “Investing a dollar to environment (HSE). How much an acci- avoid losing more than Ognedal also adds dent would cost is what USD 50 billion – that’s that Norway has seen the former long-serving what this is all about,” he nothing to match the seri- safety director at the NPD says. ous delays to maintenance and subsequent head Ognedal has expe- work observed on the UK Horrified. Magne Ognedal in front of the of the Petroleum Safety rienced several oil price continental shelf, where monument to the people who died in the Authority Norway (PSA) downturns. Every time platforms have had to Alexander L Kielland disaster. This incident wants to know. one happens, the compa- shut down as a result. on 27 March 1980 horrified government Photo: Morten Berentsen The bill for the nies launch what he calls While holding a key and public opinion alike. (Photo: NPD/Emile Ashley) 20 | NORWEGIAN CONTINENTAL SHELF 2-2015 2-2015 NORWEGIAN CONTINENTAL SHELF | 21 Airy workplace. A rope access technician at work on Oseberg East in the North Sea. (Photo: NTB Scanpix/Samfoto

role in offshore safety regula- “The answer is that we’ve nised that its level of costs is too by Eivind Reiten, which looked at tion, he was constantly con- managed to maintain the high high, and Thorvaldsen points ways of improving the flow of such fronted with claims that the level of safety that we’ve be able out that measures to rectify this units over national boundaries. Norwegian regime was too to achieve, and thereby avoided had been initiated even before Thorvaldsen regards this as demanding and expensive. costly accidents and disasters.” oil prices began to fall. positive: “There’s an acknowledge- “At least four commissions of Meanwhile, the backlog of ment that costs are too high, and inquiry have studied this issue,” Challenge safety-critical maintenance is the fall in oil prices has obviously he observes. “They tried to “The level of costs,” is Knut smaller than before. The compa- reinforced this. I see a great willing- identify particularly expensive Thorvaldsen’s blunt response nies ensure that such work gets ness to look at costs, both in the requirements, assessed our rules when asked to identify the big- done on time after setting strict companies and by government.” against their British counterparts gest challenge facing Norway’s priorities. and so forth. petroleum industry. “Everyone appreciates that Worrying “Nothing specific has As deputy director general letting maintenance slide may The risk of major accidents may emerged from this work. It’s of the Norwegian Oil and Gas yield a short-term cost saving have been at its lowest-ever in clear that safety costs. But the Association, which organises but will be negative in the long 2014, but this year got off to a wor- main question, of course, is 54 oil companies and 61 suppli- run,” says Thorvaldsen. rying start with several serious inci- whether these costs are accept- ers, he is very familiar with the Oil prices are what they are. dents during the first quarter. able. reports mentioned by Ognedal. According to Thorvaldsen, the These could have led to major But the big problem in his companies prefer to concentrate accidents and personal injuries, view has been the unwilling- on what they can do something and the PSA initiated no less than ness to implement the meas- about. Norwegian Oil and Gas six investigations – an unusually ures proposed in these studies. is contributing in part through high figure for such a short space “We don’t need more reports. standardisation and reducing of time. What we need now is specific documentation in the industry. “This is probably the worst action.” beginning to a year we’ve seen Thorvaldsen says the oil Lifeboats for a very long time,” says Henrik industry is dependent on the But the government must accept Solvorn Fjeldsbø, head of HSE at trust of its own employees and its part of the job, he says, and the Norwegian Union of Industry society as a whole to stay in not impose what he calls and Energy Workers (IE). business and to secure new “unnecessarily expensive regula- Part of the Norwegian areas in which to operate. tions” on the industry. Proposed Confederation of Trade Unions (LO), “An accident will naturally new rules for lifeboats are an this organisation has about 17 000 affect the company concerned, example. of its 61 000 members working The industry wants to cut redundancy processes at close but would also be a setback for According to the PSA, meet- offshore. the number of specialised course hand both on companies and on the whole sector,” he admits. ing these requirements would “We’re obviously concerned,” for personnel with response people afraid of losing their jobs. He adds that a company cost an NOK 8-19 billion. But says Fjeldsbø. “The question is functions, company HSE staffs “It has an effect on their may not be interested in help- the association puts the figure whether this reflects changes in are being slimmed, and free mentality,” he observes, and ing its competitors to achieve at NOK 60 billion – admittedly the industry or is simply a coinci- time for safety delegates is adds that the IE has seen rela- the best possible financial or under an earlier draft of the dence. It’s too early to draw any being reduced. tions between employers and exploration results, but col- regulations. firm conclusions.” “You lose the experience unions sour when cost cuts and laborating to ensure optimum In its view, the safety gain The oil price slump means and expertise of those who restructuring are on the agenda. safety is in everyone’s interest. is marginal while the bill would that the companies are cutting know where the problems lie,” He is constantly getting Thorvaldsen refers to the be huge, and Thorvaldsen chal- costs, and more than 25 000 jobs Fjeldsbø points out. “If this is reports from safety delegates PSA’s 2014 report on trends lenges the government to base have disappeared in Norway’s oil allowed to continue, safety and and union officials that they in risk level in the petroleum new or updated regulations on and gas industry over the past 18 emergency response will be are being involved too late in activity (RNNP), which docu- cost/benefit analyses. months. undermined.” the change processes, and that mented the lowest level of He says that the Ministry of That estimate comes from DnB Fewer employees and employees are only informed Safety weakened. Henrik Solvorn Fjeldsbø major accident risk since it Labour and Social Affairs, which Markets, and its analysts believe resources in general mean that after decisions have been taken. (top) in the Norwegian Union of Industry and began to be measured. is currently considering the life- that the redundancies and layoffs personnel still in the companies “Regulations in Norway’s Energy Workers fears that cost-cutting will Moreover, the last fatal boat issue, has shown an interest are likely to continue for some time get more to do and must cover a petroleum industry are perfor- undermine safety and emergency response. accident on the NCS occurred in getting the industry’s costs yet. wider range of functions – while mance-based. That assumes Lower bills. Knut Thorvaldsen (above) in the in 2009. And a further sign of a down. Fjeldsbø’s worry is that the cuts worrying that it could be their good and close collaboration Norwegian Oil and Gas Association for employ- positive trend is the decline in Among other moves, it has are too deep, and notes that the turn to go next. and dialogue between compa- ers sees great willingness to cut costs, both in the number of personal injuries. dusted off the 2012 report of the level of required safety and emer- Fjeldsbø cut his teeth in nies, unions and government. the industry and with government. The industry has long recog- official rig commission, chaired gency response training is currently Norway’s aluminium industry, It’s very unfortunate when the (Photos: Astri Sivertsen) under revision. and has seen the effects of balance of power is upset.”

22 | NORWEGIAN CONTINENTAL SHELF 2-2015 2-2015 NORWEGIAN CONTINENTAL SHELF | 23 Down with documentation The number of documents in the Norwegian oil sector has become irritatingly large. So government and industry are collaborating to do something about them.

| Astri Sivertsen

“You can have too much infor- thereby see differences between Bache says. The same applies to mation,” says Bjørn Thomas the petroleum sector and other documentation. Bache at the Petroleum Safety industry. “We’re becoming aware that Authority Norway (PSA), which Safety regulation is a three- things have got a bit over-spec- has launched a project to help tier pyramid, topped by the ified, and that also represents a cut documentation in the petro- overall functional or perfor- safety risk. Systems get too com- leum business. mance-based regulations set by plicated in terms of maintenance “Important details can the government. and safe operation.” drown in this flood. And we’ve Below these come the indus- He also points to poor unfortunately seen many exam- try-wide standards, while the updating of key industry stand- ples of safety-critical data which internal requirements and norms ards. Norway’s Norsok Z-001 fail to be spotted.” set by each company form the norm, which sets documenta- With many years of experi- bottom layer. tion requirements for technical ence from big oil industry sup- The functional regulations equipment, was last revised in pliers, Bache heads the joint pro- have not changed over the 1998, for example. ject between the government, years, Bache notes. But it is a According to Bache, the three operators, three main con- different story where industrial result is that the players have tractors and three equipment standards are concerned. produced their own standards. providers. Individual technical disci- Company-specific requirements Work in the project is con- plines feature a good deal of are rife in the various disciplines. fined to life-cycle information compartmentalised (or “silo”) After meetings between (LCI), and the companies taking thinking, even though the aim is everyone involved, the study part have been chosen because integrated systems rather than will lead in the second quarter of they have a relationship with specifying sets of components. next year to a joint final report each other. But solutions will be sub- with recommendations for use Moreover, the selected sup- standard unless their designers by both companies and govern- Statfjord B. pliers also have customers across are prepared to look beyond ment. (Photo: Harald Pettersen/Statoil) the industrial spectrum, and can their own specialised field,

Explosive growth Tenfold increase in two decades Document requirements from suppliers of fabrica- “Why does a platform need 10 times the documen- tion projects have increased 230 per cent over a tation today that it required in the 1990s ?” decade, according to one of the main contractors Per Harald Kongelf, regional manager Norway for delivering to the NCS. Aker Solutions, at a union-organised oil and gas con- Measured by the number of documents per ference in Bergen during October 2014. tonne of topside equipment, this figure has been reached by comparing two similar contracts imple- mented 10 years apart. Requirements for design documentation had doubled over the same period.

24 | NORWEGIAN CONTINENTAL SHELF 2-2015 2-2015 NORWEGIAN CONTINENTAL SHELF | 25 Interviewing two talkative generations of Myhres – Eldar and son Aslak – about the growth of Norway’s oil sector and Stavanger’s transformation from a ickens?” chuckles Aslak, who is now head of the National canning town in decline to an oil capital is like asking Library of Norway. “This pub has gained far too big a place in for a dram and getting the whole bottle. DStavanger’s local history. “It’s become a persistent myth. When I grew up, Dickens was a place where fans Bjørn Rasen and of the local Viking football team took a Morten Berentsen (photos) beer before a home game – and another if the club won.” The point of choosing one of Stavanger’s oldest pubs for a chat with him and his trade unionist father is that reminiscences flow more freely around a table there. This was allegedly one of the old hot spots where oil news was discussed, and where roughnecks and divers were recruited to new jobs during their time ashore. “I don’t think so many problems were resolved exactly here,” Eldar adds. “Other things went on. The Skjenkestuen bar came later, and was more where that hap- pened.” Another myth, concerning heated political discussions around the kitchen table in the Myhre home, is just as effec- tively crushed. “Like other people, we were interest- ed in getting to work or school, everyday concerns,” says Aslak. “We didn’t hold any political seminars at home.” A hectic programme of union meet- ings often kept Eldar out late. The home was an oasis to relax in. It was important not to bring the job home. “I was otherwise up an hour earlier than Aslak, of course, and only had the cat for company. We never quarrelled. Dinner was eaten there, obviously, but we didn’t discuss the oil industry in particular.” But Aslak admits that things did hap- pen at home, as he notes in his book Herskap og tjenere (Upstairs, Downstairs) when trying to describe everyday life. “I well remember coming home to Different perceptions. Eldar (left) and Aslak Myhre are sur- find Dad lying there with an injured prised by fellow Norwegians who believe the welfare state shoulder. I was young, and have never for- will persist even if the oil disappears. “The problem in Norway today is that we’ve forgotten that you need a cow if you’re gotten it. I read that people were injured, going to have milk.” and when I got older somebody died.” That was at Rosenberg Verft, which turned in the late 1970s from building Myth-busters

26 | NORWEGIAN CONTINENTAL SHELF 2-2015 2-2015 NORWEGIAN CONTINENTAL SHELF | 27 tankers to fabricating platforms that one of my friends was an superpowers, and called for free for the oil industry and where anarchist, so that was perhaps nursery places for all children City and yard Eldar worked. where the line was drawn. and – not least – for a six-hour Rosenberg Mekaniske Verksted “What did matter was who “I saw what Dad and Mum working day with full pay com- is a mechanical engineering company at Buøy in Stavanger. won the contracts,” Eldar empha- were doing, and that it meant pensation.” Founded in 1896, it has been sises. “The crucial question was something. I was proud of it. But Eldar found he had an active through several changes whether the work went to us at I don’t think I ever told Dad that.” son who did well on every front, of name and owner, and Rosenberg or to Aker Stord [fur- He smiles as he meets Eldar’s and who eventually acquired belongs today to Australia’s ther north].” quizzical look. his own authority. At 19, Aslak WorleyParsons. The yard deliv- Rosenberg Verft. Building the Statfjord B topsides ers to Norway’s oil industry Heavy engineering is poli- Aslak has been used to went to university in Bergen and around 1980. (Photo: Rein Øverland/Norwegian tics, then as now. Aslak’s past as speaking out since boyhood. “it was liberating for him not to and now has more than 500 Petroleum Museum) employees.­ chair of the Red Electoral Alliance His grandparents had a house be identified everywhere as my Kværner acquired the busi- must have been an issue at in the Ryfylke region north of son.” ness in 1970, and it was joined home, no matter how early they Stavanger, which he often visited Aslak nods. Bergen was a dif- memories for him, but that he saw proud of its technology since with the Moss Verft yard south got up or how late they returned. with his parents. ferent world and the move was “a radical change in the way oil was the early 1970s, with Kværner of Oslo as Moss Rosenberg Verft Aslak firmly denies that he grew Equipped with a Norwegian crucial for his political engage- talked and written about into the Rosenberg building seven ground- (MRV) until 2004. It ceased build- up in a “political seminar”, where flag on a long pole, he joined his ment. 1990s.” That became even more breaking liquefied natural gas carri- ing ships following the shipping his parents tried to mould his grandfather in the local parade “When Aslak became a noticeable in the 2000s. ers with spherical tanks in 1973-80. crisis in the mid-1970s, and con- verted to fabricating platform views – although he admits to on 17 May, Norway’s Constitution media figure, I felt I had to “During the 1980s, the discus- “These were advanced ships topsides. having been influenced. Day. reduce my own exposure a little,” sion focused a lot on contracts, jobs developed by Kværner itself, and “But if Dad or Mum had tried He was happy to do so, but adds Eldar. “That was a conscious and production by the companies, the company made good money Eldar Myhre (1949- ) was a to get me to think something, thought the event was little tame decision on my part.” while oil company finances are at from them,” Eldar says. “Others high-profile union official at they’d have got nowhere. My and ended up giving a speech Fifty years after the first the centre of attention today,” he began building oil platforms, but Rosenberg, as well as serving as own political activity was shaped from a big rock. But it was far licensing round on the NCS was notes. we saw no future in such primitive chief shop steward for the Aker in quite different arenas. from a conventional appeal to announced, the place of oil and Eldar agrees with him to a structures. That’s why we were late Kværner group. He led opposi- tion to the takeover of Kværner “It undoubtedly reflected national sentiment. gas in Norway’s public debate degree. He observes that few peo- to the table.” by Norwegian industrialist and what I experienced at home, and “It must surely have been has changed. More of that later. ple in the early days had any per- Kværner may have lagged financier Kjell Inge Røkke. Myhre our standpoints are pretty simi- the only 17 May speech in The question for the Myhres is ception of the industry’s scope and behind initially, but it quickly was also a radical voice in the lar. But my views weren’t shaped inner Ryfylke which demanded what should survive from this the significance it would have for caught up. And its labour force had Norwegian Confederation of by my family. a Soviet withdrawal from first half-century of petroleum society’s development. to change their work culture to one Trade Unions (LO) and at odds “It was important to empha- Afghanistan or the USA out of activity. “The majors were here, of where directives occupied a more with the leadership on major sise that they were my own. I got Nicaragua,” Aslak recalls. Aslak notes that the 1970s course, and we knew they were dominant place. issues such as the EU and work- ing conditions. He served as an earful once when I reported “Or which rejected both and 1980s were childhood large in a world context. But that “We built [our first platform] chair of the local branch of the we would build up a company Statfjord B in accordance with plans United Federation of Trade [Statoil] able to rank alongside the and manuals, with no room to think Unions. big boys who had arrived here then for yourself,” Eldar comments. was beyond our ability to imagine “Statfjord C then involved a National librarian at the time. number of identical structures. We The National Library of Norway “But it’s happened, and we’ve took the initiative on working in acquires and archives materials published in all media. It helps acquired step by step the know- parallel because there were too to ensure that manifestations of how we initially had to fetch from many people in one place. They Norwegian culture and social life abroad. Today, we’re delivering carpeted us for that.” are preserved and made avail- expertise to others. The changes Statoil later took over from able for research and documen- are massive and colossal revenues America’s Mobil as Statfjord opera- tation. Read more at www.nb.no. have been generated.” tor, and the methods changed. In his view, the most evident Eldar believes that encourag- Aslak Sira Myhre (1973- ) is the director general of the National changes are to be found in the self- ing workers to be creative gives Library, known popularly as the confidence, self-belief, mood and Norwegian yards a competitive “national librarian”. A former temper among Stavanger residents. edge. journalist and politician, he Most locals earlier felt op­­ Aslak agrees that his father was a member of Stavanger’s New jobs. pressed, and accepted the images is onto something interesting. city council from 1999 to 2003. Welding on the of them and their city created in “Progress since Statfjord C in 1983, He has represented the Red Kvitebjørn plat- Oslo. “Fights could break out if we when we were well into the oil era, Electoral Alliance and the Red form. (Photo: Party, and chaired the first of Stavanger ran into someone from eastern has been massive. these from 1997 to 2003. He was Aftenblad/Lars Norway. Today we meet people “The technology changes from head of the Literature House in Idar Vaage with our dialect everywhere.” manuals to something the world Oslo from 2006 to 2014. However, Stavanger has been hasn’t seen before, and becomes

28 | NORWEGIAN CONTINENTAL SHELF 2-2015 2-2015 NORWEGIAN CONTINENTAL SHELF | 29 off, and recalls the struggle a – the oil companies which pro- NOK 7 000 billion – or some- few years back to raise NOK duce or the government which thing insanely large. We can 70 million in order to save wants them to? Or the consum- even invest in something we Rosenberg. ers who depend entirely on could eventually earn money The yard was subse- petroleum products? from.” quently sold to Australia’s “Is this a question of sin? Aslak recalls returning from WorleyParsons for NOK 1.1 bil- I don’t accept that,” responds a demonstration against gas- Heartfelt. That Stavanger as a town lion, he notes. “That says some- Aslak. fired power at Kollsnes north of has kept the Rosenberg thing about the potential which “We could hold a debate on Bergen in 1997. The discussion Verft yard distinguishes some people see and others that,” adds Eldar. “The problem was whether wind energy could Norway’s oil capital don’t.” in Norway today is that we’ve replace petroleum. from the former indus- Eldar has become increas- forgotten that you need a cow if “I thought we could swap trial cities of Bergen and ingly impressed with “the you’re going to have milk. the two. You can do that in a Oslo, says Aslak Myhre. little band of politicians and “A lot of people seem to Soviet style economy where His father Eldar agrees. People in Stavanger industrialists who laid the basis think we can have a country you don’t have to make money. have always seen plat- for Norway’s organisation of a like it is today – but without oil. It’s not possible in a capitalist forms and vessels at the future oil industry when none of That’s not credible, and we’re system where you must sooner quay or in the yard. That them had seen a picture of what not going to stop the flow. or later show a profit. brings them closer to it would become”. “What we do in Norway isn’t “One depends on the this important industry. Norway had experience for Norwegian consumption, other – that’s a banal economic In Bergen and Oslo, they of power-intensive industry, but for a global market. And if understanding which I didn’t build flats instead. and took much of its model we’re not in it, somebody else have then. If you fail to take this from there. “Without that, we’d will take our place. into account, I can’t take it seri- have become like any other oil “We Norwegians are per- ously. It’s just layman’s talk.” Norway’s biggest export indus- “That’s an absurd approach had while he was living there. nation. haps out to obtain absolution He wants to see a better try after oil and gas. because Statoil wants, as I And Oslo has not seen industry “That’s what makes us dis- for our sins, rather than achieve debate on the Norwegian oil “Is this development rec- understand it, somebody out since its shipyard was converted tinctive, with oil as something practical change. At least it and gas industry – an open ognised by Norwegians at all? there to know something in the into the Aker Brygge residential which benefits the whole of our wasn’t us who did it, they’ll say. discussion rather than one with Is that where it stops? We built future.” and entertainment district. society rather than being milked That we produced this with the terms set by a few and other platforms and developed fields. Eldar says that the idea of “The fact that Rosenberg by a few big fish.” lower emissions than anyone arguments unwelcome. That is Then we got b****y rich. And outsourcing work to east Asia has been and still is in operation else isn’t even regarded as an often the case in Norway today, today it’s a climate problem.” arose in the 1980s, with China as means three things. Many peo- Impressed argument.” he claims. With reference to the grow- the location because it was well ple have worked there, several One question is then why the “Amen,” interjects Aslak, and “When you sit anywhere – ing number of NCS facilities organised and could offer cheap thousand at peak. big picture has not been more has been fired up by his father’s classroom, boardroom, library built at Asian yards, he believes solutions. “They have spouses and strongly imprinted on the comments. – there’s always an underlying company executives and politi- “As time passes, living stand- children, and families who live national memory and the public “Do we take politics seri- consensus about what you’re all cians in Norway have lost some- ards rise and everything gets from it. That naturally provides debate about the oil and gas ously or not?” he says. “This is saying. thing of the plot along the way more expensive,” he observes. income for the town, but it also industry’s significance for the presented as if it’s a big ethical “It’s almost never explicit, – they think a supplies industry “And we dismantle our own affects people mentally – how country. argument for the future of the but simply lies there as the basic is unnecessary, the country can expertise and industry.” they perceive their city. Asked whether he feels world, but it’s often about posi- terms of the discussion. Unless simply sit on top and administer. The pair have almost “Former Conservative mayor good books on that subject tioning in a Norwegian political you question that basis, you’ll In his view, Norway risks los- inexhaustible views about Leif Johan Sevland once said are lacking, Aslak replies that conversation. ing that element which concerns Rosenberg. The yard has meant that converting the Rosenberg end up like the others within Ryfylke-born author Kjartan “This isn’t about politi- a few days, weeks, months or industrial development and a a lot for Stavanger as an indus- site to any other industry would Fløgstad has said something cal consequences, realities or national approach to working, trial town and oil capital. be out of the question as long as years. That’s how socialisation interesting about this. whether it means something for works. with a short distance between Aslak believes it also marks he remained in office. “Mainland industries have Norway, after all. It’s just a mat- “What I’ve seen with Dad, engineers and skilled workers, the biggest difference between “His counterparts in Bergen their writers, he observed, but ter of positioning. from the time we went to buy between North Sea and yard, his home town, Bergen and and Oslo would never have not the oil sector to any extent. “Like the comment by and to Statoil. Oslo. “All three have been indus- dreamt of saying something The North Sea was inaccessible, finance minister Siv Jensen a bike when I was little until “If that element isn’t any trial centres,” he points out. similar. Stavanger thought of while everyone ashore has a that she’s not sure whether all he was a worker director of longer something you recog- “Bergen has had Laksevåg and itself as an industrial city. That relationship to industry there. climate change is caused by Kværner, was his refusal to nise about what’s happened in Solviken, in Stavanger it was gives it an advantage today. “Fløgstad tried to get off- human activity. As if what she accept these terms. Norway, you don’t understand Rosenberg and canning. Anyone can make money in the shore for 30 years, until BP says means anything. “That was allied to an abil- the future, you don’t take this “When I moved from financial sector during a boom.” managed to get him out. It’s “The questions you have ity to ask the questions which experience with you. Stavanger, everyone could see Eldar praises the local coun- not been easy from an author’s to ask must be about what she are right viewed from outside, “What we take with us from a platform at the quay or out in cil for backing the preservation perspective. [Fellow novelist] might or might not do. What are but are b****y uncomfortable this period is not only a mat- the fjord. Not only at Rosenberg, of Stavanger’s industrial base, Karl Ove Knausgård worked on her policies – that’s what will for insiders – because they chal- ter of writing history, but also but also the Condeep shafts in “while the Oslo councillors building concrete platforms, have consequences.” lenge the basis of the whole a question of the foundation Jåttåvågen and mobile units in responsible for business devel- but has clearly learnt nothing at He asks whether Norway conversation. we lay for tomorrow’s develop- for repair.” opment maintained it was no all about the oil industry. How has become so rich that it no “I try to stick with this ments.” Rigs were laid up in the place for manufacturing. They that’s possible is a mystery to longer needs a milch cow. “The way of thinking and daring to He points to Statoil, “which Ryfylke fjords, he recalls. The wanted to build homes. Doing me.” paradox of the discussion is speak out even if it can be a bit says openly that it’s building mayor of Stavanger could see a away with industry was seen as “What we have now are that, as long as you have a cow, long-term expertise in South platform or rig from his office progress.” uncomfortable. See now, that’s climate-driven demands to you can afford to lose money made Dad proud.” Korea. It ‘knows’ it’ll get short- every day. He believes that industrial dismantle the oil industry,” says elsewhere. comings and follow-up work. Bergen shut down what it activity should not be written Eldar. Who, then, is the sinner “We have an oil fund worth

30 | NORWEGIAN CONTINENTAL SHELF 2-2015 2-2015 NORWEGIAN CONTINENTAL SHELF | 31 eismic data which cost sev- eral billion kroner to secure is still stored as rolls of paper or film on many metres of shelv- ing in the vaults at the NPD’s SStavanger offices. “But they’re now actually valueless,” says Knudsen as he walks through this massive archive. “Everything’s been entered in Diskos.” A certain awe nevertheless attaches to this store, which holds all the data needed to find offshore giants such as Ekofisk, Gullfaks, Statfjord and Troll. Everything is contained in these rolls – worth their weight in gold to those who can interpret them, Greek to the rest of us. Activity used to be hectic in the vaults, since the oil companies are required to supply the NPD with copies of all their raw seismic and drilling data. All the partners in a licence could come and ask for copies, too, and this was supplemented by purchase, sale and swap agreements. “We used to have a lot of staff who were employed solely on this work,” Knudsen recalls. “Things are considerably simpler today.” History And few people know the history better than this man, who joined the first reser- voir engineering course at what is now the University of Stavanger in 1971. Following two years on a couple of water drilling projects in Africa, Knudsen joined the NPD in 1977 after writing his first – and last – job application. He became interested in data man- agement at an early stage, and was also the first NPD staffer to build a reser- voir simulation model – in this case for Ekofisk. It consisted of three layers and 350 blocks, created partially with the aid of millimetre paper, and with the calcula- Past and present. The big rolls of paper and film in the NPD’s vaults contain the information needed to find the giants on the tions carried out on an IBM mainframe NCS – Ekofisk, Gullfaks, Statfjord and Troll. Worth billions of kro- by Rogalandsdata. Access to information is the key to finding more oil and gas ner, this information is all in electronic databases today. Knudsen was later involved in simu- lating the Statfjord field at then operator in mature areas of the NCS, and the NPD established its Mobil’s Dallas offices. By then, hundreds of thousands of blocks were involved. Diskos database 20 years ago to provide this. Kjell Reidar He subsequently became section Knudsen has been involved all the way. head for reservoir technology and later production technology, and took charge | Alf Inge Molde and Emile Ashley (photos)

32 | NORWEGIAN CONTINENTAL SHELF 2-2015 2-2015 NORWEGIAN CONTINENTAL SHELF | 33 Enormous progress. Kjell Reidar Knudsen has long been involved with data management.

Openness. Data stored in Diskos becomes acces- Big Data. The information sible to all its members managed by Eric Toogood once the period of con- and his team is constantly fidentiality has expired. expanding, and is set to Raw data from wells and reach 30 petabytes within a seismic surveys provided few years. Playing a petabyte by licences are secret for of music non-stop on an two years, seismic results MP3 player would take 2 000 from companies for five, years. speculative seismic sur- veys for 10 and data inter- pretations for 20.

More data and better accessibility

of the NPD’s data management depart- But all the material ultimately the world to talk about Diskos and aising Diskos to a completely tains 10-20 times more data and is When Big Data combines the data ment when it was established in 1990. become available to every member help new oil nations with the work of new level in coming years is the intended to provide the company storage structure with new software, The latter ensured that internal once the period of confidentiality has managing their data. Rambition of Eric Toogood, man- with accurate information about what the result could be that information handling of information became more expired. And that is sooner than one That has taken him a number of ager of this NPD database. might be located where. from the North Sea reveals new geo- streamlined, and one result was the might think. times to such countries as Nigeria, Information being posted to the Toogood also wants to incorporate logical plays in the Barents Sea – or high-quality log data (HQLD) project. Raw data from wells and seismic Vietnam, East Timor, Mozambique, facility in the recent past has grown metadata and better positioning infor- vice versa. This involved scanning in all the surveys provided by licences are con- Angola, Madagascar, Uganda, China, almost explosively, with content up mation for survey ships, which tells The huge expansion in data material contained on tape and paper fidential for two years, seismic results the Philippines and Japan. from 400 terabytes at 31 December users when, how and under what con- expected over coming years means by a specialist in Wales and storing it from companies for five, speculative Not all of them are as well placed 2013 to one petabyte (1,000 terabytes) ditions the material has been acquired. that ever bigger transfer capacity will on eight-millimetre cassettes. seismic surveys for 10 and data inter- to succeed as Norway. But building up a year later. This is because the sound waves be required. Put simply, this need has pretations for 20. a shared register of all information – Over the next five to six years, echoed back to the ship are influenced so far been met by increasing fibre After that, the material becomes with a common terminology – is very Lorryload this volume of data could increase by by a number of factors, such as wave cable thickness. Seven to 10 of these little tapes could freely available. Its accessibility means important. If Knudsen had his way, 20-30 petabytes – primarily because heights, ocean currents, temperature However, the time taken by this hold a lorryload of data, Knudsen that the companies do not have to a global standard would have been of a change in the requirements for and the salinity/density of the water. approach has become a bottleneck. recalls. It cost NOK 15 million to digitise spend time searching for information. established. materials stored there. Another technology which is The answer could be for users, wher- and quality-control information from Instead, they can start interpreta- From 2012, the NPD has required expected to help Diskos continue ever they sit, to work directly with the the 750 wells drilled on the NCS up to tion at once. And the company which Memory the oil companies also to post all raw developing is related to the Big Data Diskos database. 1994. is best at this activity wins. That ben- When Diskos was created, it was The HQLD was the forerunner of efits both the companies and the dimensioned for four terabytes of data data – known as field and pre-stack concept. Another new development is that the Diskos database, whose first mem- Norwegian taxpayer. and the memory used cost several mil- information. Until then, most of them The database is already one of the all members can also access quality- bers were Statoil, Norsk Hydro, Saga lion kroner. Such drives currently cost a had only entered post-stack details. largest of its kind in the world. It con- assured production data from the vari- Petroleum and Mobil in addition to the Honour couple of thousand kroner. Put briefly, field data covers all tains well data right back to the first ous fields on the NCS. NPD. Knudsen says that many people That price reduction is just as well. input acquired by seismic survey ships, spudded on the NCS in 1966, and seis- This information was previously Others joined later, and it currently can claim a share of the honour of Diskos will probably contain more than while pre-stack material has been mic survey findings from 1980. reserved for the NPD and the relevant has 57 members and 19 associates. A making Diskos what it has become two petabytes, or 2 000 terabytes, by part-processed and compressed – and This information has been licensees, but could be of great inter- number of universities and non-com- today, including project manager Eric 31 December this year. therefore contains rather less informa- acquired by different methods and est to companies thinking of farming mercial research organisation also have Toogood and his deputy, Elin Aabø To put this in perspective, the aver- tion. technologies down to the present into a field. access to its open information. Lorentzen. age coding for an MP3 music file on The post-stack category is pro- day from the North, Norwegian and French geoscience company CCG, Members of Diskos can access their But he continues to play an impor- a mobile phone is about one mega- cessed pre-stack data, with even Barents Seas. which took over operation of Diskos own data and material belonging to tant role, and has served as chair of the byte per minute. Playing a petabyte smaller content, and has so far pro- The goal now is to exploit all these on 1 January 2015, has financial incen- licences where they are a partner. They Diskos management committee and of music non-stop would take 2 000 vided the commonest basis for seismic data simultaneously across sea areas, tives to offer additional services in can also buy, sell and swap information steering group from the start. years. interpretation and analysis by the oil allowing geologists to track similarities competition with others. That opens through the system. Since 2000, he has also travelled companies. in patterns and trends which escape the way to even wider and better use However, pre-stack material con- even the best-trained eye. of the stored data. 34 | NORWEGIAN CONTINENTAL SHELF 2-2015 2-2015 NORWEGIAN CONTINENTAL SHELF | 35 Adding up to acclaim | Astri Sivertsen ROCKSHOT he city of Sandnes near ods for maths,” he observed. Blank at the University of Stavanger recently “As a result, all the pupils Stavanger and colleague Twon the innovation have recorded much higher Kjersti Melhus translated text- prize from the Ministry levels of attainment without books and work sheets from of Local Government and the need for extraordinary Russian and adapted them to Modernisation after adopting resources. That’s impressive.” Norwegian conditions. a Russian model for teaching An article in Norwegian All this was in their free mathematics in school. Continental Shelf 3-2012 time. This commitment was State secretary (junior described a visit to class 4B at noticed, and the method is minister) Paul Chaffey present- Smeaheia primary school in now in use at 27 schools - 14 in Sandnes and 13 at Skien south of Oslo. Jan Egil Sørensen, an adviser on childhood and youth services in Skien, learnt of the Smeaheia approach through the media, and the council found it so interesting that a delegation visited Moe. That convinced the local authority to launch a pilot project last year and then to introduce the method in all primary and lower secondary schools this autumn, Sørensen reports. “They’re very pleased with the programme so far,” he says. “But they’ve had some running-in problems because of a lack of textbooks and web resources.” Tight formations This issue is being over- (Photo: Janka Rom) Sandnes, then the only one in come, reports Moe. She is now Facsimile from ed the NOK 500 000 award at Norway to have adopted the retired, but spends a lot of Norwegian Continental Shelf a local government confer- Russian system. time travelling around and giv- 3-2012. ence in the south Norwegian Known as “developmen- ing courses, and responds to town of Arendal during June. tal learning”, this model was e-mails from people who want | Christian Magnus and Janka Rom Barentsforlaget, a small “Sandnes local authority brought to the school by to know more. publishing company in has taken its schoolchildren teacher Gerd Inger Moe after asalt can form reservoirs for which has partially melted. That canic eruptions fairly directly from the far northern port of seriously, collaborated with learning about it during a visit oil and gas on the NCS if it gives it a veined and marbled the Earth’s mantle, this is a fine- Kirkenes, has published academics and introduced to Russia. textbooks and work contains open fractures and appearance. grained lava. sheets for years one and entirely new teaching meth- Moe, Ukrainian Natalia B a certain number of cavities. Such This rock often comprises dark, Dark and light crystals (pic- two (six- and seven-year rocks have been identified in the wavy laminations and bands (older tured) lie in and near the centre olds). And two members Norwegian Sea, but have not yield- material) encased in a light granitic of the basalt intrusions because of staff at the University ed discoveries. Migmatites and matrix (more recent). The latter slow solidification gives them of Stavanger are work- Think for yourself Impressive results basalt intrusion can be observed can be formed by the injection of time to form. That has occurred ing flat out to prepare The “developmental learning” approach is based on “After introducing the new teaching method, 65 per at Håhammeren along the Hafrs magma, by partial melting of the at low temperature and pressure. resources for the next principles enunciated by Russian psychologist Lev cent of pupils in year five reach the highest level of Fjord outside Stavanger. rock in situ, or by a reaction in the The contact with the migmatite two years of primary Vygotsky and his pupil Leonid Zankov. maths attainment in national tests, and none are at school. This aims to encourage pupils to think, analyse the lowest. The local authority has achieved impres- Migmatite is a rock formed solid phase. is more fine-grained because of Read more (in and discuss their way to solving maths problems. sive results from its ‘Russian maths’ project, which under high pressure and tem- After the migmatite was cooling. Norwegian only) at http:// They learn from making errors and then going the jury knows does not just happen. This shows perature deep in the Earth’s crust, formed, basalt (dark rock) has matematikklandet.no. through these mistakes in detail. that complex social problems can be overcome by and migmatitic gneiss is a variant intruded. Formed through vol- taking new approaches.” From the jury’s citation.

36 | NORWEGIAN CONTINENTAL SHELF 2-2015 2-2015 NORWEGIAN CONTINENTAL SHELF | 37 The relentless struggle between mountain massifs and the force of gravity continues unmonitored in many rural areas around Norway. But geology holds the key to keeping people safe. Geology Day

| Atle Rotevatn and Janka Rom The Geological Society of Norway organises a day to cel- People with an interest in the geosciences con- ebrate its discipline every year in mid-September, aided vey knowledge about and experiences with geology by many volunteers in societies and companies through- designed to encourage young people to maintain their out the country. interest in stones and minerals. With the aim of giving the general public a taste of That will hopefully stimulate them to study a sub- what the subject involves, about 75 events are staged ject which normally attracts little attention in Norway. in marketplaces, museums, mines, quarries, libraries, Getting youngsters to become geologists and raising Detecting schools and on outings. awareness of the discipline are accordingly important.

is under surveillance while they people now possess, cars and Both children and adults are sleep soundly, go to work or the like. All are made of materials interested in the natural world dangerous moves take their children to school. extracted from earth and rock. around them, fascinated by Monitoring goes on here, Take a look around at home, rocks, minerals, dinosaurs and funded from the government’s at work or perhaps at school. volcanoes. deep pockets. In other valleys Ignoring food, wood and fabrics, Norwegians enjoy being out and fjords, however, the endless the overwhelming proportion in the countryside and the moun- struggle between rock and grav- of objects there contain a high tains, hiking through hill and dale ity stays unsupervised. proportion of metals, minerals or and casting an inquisitive eye on The same applies along petroleum (in the form of plastic). their majestic surroundings. roads such as the E16, the main A brief list would include highway between Oslo and mobiles, light bulbs, baths, ovens, Spectacular porcelain, cups, bowls, com- Bergen, where the frequent Geology is the discipline which rockslides usually cause little or puters, ballpoint pens, glasses, deals with this spectacular world no harm. coffeemakers and high-voltage and the natural processes which “Things went well this time, cables. Not to mention aircraft, occur in and shape its myriad too,” people say, but they sleep trains, ambulances, cake slices, uneasily and utter a silent prayer paint or selfie sticks. forms. that things will go well again And geologists, with their Yet the study of science – when the school bus drives past. expertise about the planet, are including the geosciences – is Geologists also participate crucial for ensuring the produc- declining in Norwegian schools. when roads, railways and tun- tion of the mineral resources If this trend continues, important The Sør Fjord in nels are planned, when the which go into these products. expertise for overcoming tomor- Hardanger is a typi- foundations are laid for build- Anyone with children has row’s challenges will be lost. cal west Norwegian he Wave (Bølgen) is a knowledge and their experience. being blocked by rock falls and landscape. (Photo: ings and other infrastructure, found them coming home with Children need to have their Norwegian film which Such tracking is difficult and landslides – particularly along the Arne Bjørøen) and when groundwater is their pockets full of shells or interest in these subjects stimu- depicts a fjord community challenging, and issuing warnings deep-furrowed west coast. assessed and channelled. stones after a trip to the beach or lated. That will give them impor- hit by a huge flood fol- even harder. When rock motion Steep-sided fjords, frost ero- They are involved on land into the hills, or asking questions tant know-how for tackling scien- lowingT a massive landslide. It has accelerates from “barely measure- sion and heavy precipitation rep- and at sea, by the coast, in the about Tyrannosaurus rex. tific problems in the future. proved highly successful in cin- able” to “just about moving”, it is resent a dangerous combination, mountains and along the fjords, Geologists are often asked If they train to become geolo- emas nationwide. hard to predict whether a slide even though luck and low popula- and in every Norwegian town how the mountains have gists, they may even find them- Actor Kristoffer Joner plays might happen in hours, days or tion density mean that lives are and village. Geology is needed acquired their form, or to provide selves one day rescuing a west geologist hero Kristian Eikjord – years. seldom lost. everywhere. the name of a rock someone has Norwegian community or two but his real-life counterparts do And it may not happen at all, For the people who live in For five decades, geosci- found in their garden – or about from the flood waters. the threat of landslides and indeed keep watch on unstable which was the case with Mannen these fjordlands, however, driving entists have been searching earthquakes. rock formations in various loca- last year when locals were evacu- along stretches of road which are for and finding oil and gas on the NCS to provide revenues tions. ated and the whole nation fol- most at risk from such instability and prosperity from reservoirs The best known of these hot lowed the drama. can be highly stressful. Atle Rotevatn (right) is vice president several kilometres beneath the of the Geological Society of Norway spots is Mannen, in the Romsdalen So sounding an alert presents Statements such as “a geolo- and a professor of geology at the seabed. area of western Norway, where a very difficult balance between gist has carried out an inspection” University of Bergen. Geological research is con- Janka Rom (below) is president of the 120 000 cubic metres of rock – or ensuring that people are out of or “a geologist is awaited” recur ducted into the endless advance Geological Society of Norway and a 12 000 lorryloads – are threatening harm’s way and crying wolf by frequently in online media stories and retreat of glaciers and on geologists at the NPD. to tumble. staging repeated evacuations about roads cut by fallen rock. the behaviour and history of sea Given that mountain ramparts without anything going wrong. While tempers rise in the and land in order to understand usually move by millimetres, little In the case of Mannen, mov- ever-lengthening traffic queues, past and present climates. about the working day of a watch- ing residents away was essential the experts must decide whether The geologist studies impor- ful geologist involves drama or – even though the mountainside the road is safe enough to be reo- tant subjects – the origin and heroic deeds. eventually decided to stay put that pened or has to stay closed while development of life, fossils, car- But these specialists undoubt- winter. And such precautions will safety measures are instituted. bon storage, thermal heat, wind edly do a very important job in be necessary again. People living at the foot of energy and hydropower. keeping an eye on the potential Every spring, the Norwegian Mannen may feel they are fortu- Think, too, about all the threat with their instruments, their media carry reports about roads nate that their towering neighbour technical gadgets and devices

38 | NORWEGIAN CONTINENTAL SHELF 2-2015 2-2015 NORWEGIAN CONTINENTAL SHELF | 39 Return address: Norwegian Petroleum Directorate P O Box 600, NO-4003 Stavanger, Norway

Porto betalt ved innleveringen P.P. Norge/

Norvège B-blad

From print to digital A fixture on many desks in and around the Norwegian oil industry is no more. The paper edition of Facts has been replaced by the www.norskpe- troleum.no website. The content has been reorganised on the new website to tie descriptions and facts more closely together. Articles and facts are illustrated with photos, graph- ics and maps. All information is accessible from any digital platform, and the content can be downloaded, printed out and shared by mail or on social media. Links to more detailed information are provided for each topic. As with Oil Facts, part of the factual information will be synchronised on a daily basis with the NPD’s fact bases. The new site is intended for a broad audience, and accordingly represents a supplement to the NPD’s own fact pages and maps. These are aimed to a great- er extent at professional users.

Provided in both Norwegian and English versions, www.norskpetroleum. no contains information on such aspects as: - the significance of the petroleum sector for the Norwegian economy - a description of current activities on the NCS - organisation of the petroleum sector Oil Facts - regulatory parameters throughout the industry life cycle, from opening new The iPhone app from the NPD exploration acreage to field cessation and the Ministry of Petroleum and - facts about fields, discoveries, companies, exploration activities, production Energy is available in an updated and the resource base on the NCS version. This can be accessed in - emissions/discharges, measures to reduce them and oil spill response the App Store by searching for Oil - the supplies industry and the commitment to research and technology Facts. The app is also available for - explanations of terminology and an energy calculator. Android and Windows phones.

ISSN: 1504-1468 www.npd.no

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