All About The Elections#

“It is sad to see that the government and the left have been more concerned with appeasing Greta Thunberg than having ambitions for the oil and gas industry.”

Parliamentary candidate Kristoffer Sivertsen (Progress Party) believes that there is now a crisis after the shipyard Worley Rosenberg in Stavanger and the oil company ConocoPhillips have to lay off staff.

Worley Rosenberg is one of the cornerstone companies in Stavanger. Around 300 people, or 30 percent of the workforce at the shipyard, could now lose their jobs.

It is not known how many people may have to leave ConocoPhillips.

My big concern is if we get a new government dependent on Socialist Left Party, Red Party and Green Party. It will be doomsday for the supply industry in Norway. All new exploration could be put on hold.

Kyrre Knudsen is chief economist at Sparebank 1 Sør-Norge. After the last few economically good years for oil, they now see a change.

“Right now it is about to level out more, at least on the Norwegian shelf, and into next year it will fall a little,” says Knudsen. “The industry has hired more people, but it has not been a crazy year and huge wage growth for everyone.”

Now there is less optimism among the oil companies. It is expected that more people will have to reduce staff.

Thinks Everything May Be Put On Hold#

Sivertsen believes that the current government has created uncertainty in oil and gas policy.

“New areas must be opened up for exploration and we must build more infrastructure. We will produce more oil and gas,” the Progress Party representative insists.

He believes that the government and Minister for Climate and Environment Andreas Bjelland Eriksen (Labour Party) must take responsibility for achieving more stability in the oil industry, “It is the government’s responsibility that the shipyards are experiencing the slump they are now,” says Sivertsen.

Thinks The Labour Party Could Be Pressured By The Left-Wing Parties#

“If we do not make more discoveries on the Norwegian continental shelf, the level of activity will fall sharply in the coming years. Then the current situation will be a warning sign for what is to come.”

That is said by MP Aleksander Stokkebø (Conservative Party), who believes it is important that we maintain exploration activity.

“I am concerned about ensuring that we have a policy that avoids us getting more of what we are now seeing in (shipyard Worley) Rosenberg.”

He is also concerned if Socialist Left Party, Red Party and Green Party end up on the brink. He believes that they could then pressure Labour Party to slow down exploration activity.

“It could have major consequences for jobs and our ability to be a stable supplier to Europe, which is currently dependent on Russian energy,” says Stokkebø.

Conservative leader Tina Bru believes that “oil shame” is a nonsense term. She has great faith in the oil industry in Norway going forward.

Socialist Left Party Wants To Go Green#

Storting representative Ingrid Fiskaa (Socialist Left Party) disagrees and points out that they have called the downsizing a foretold crisis.

“We have been warning for a long time that the order books will run empty at the shipyards. We need to act quickly,” she says.

Fiskaa says that the Socialist Party of Norway is demanding a green activity package to ensure that the expertise in the Norwegian supplier industry remains in the country and at Rosenberg.

“We believe that the government has not been proactive enough. The Socialist Party has said for a long time that we must take steps to transition to green industry,” she says.

The Climate Minister Believes That Green Energy Is The Salvation#

Minister for Climate and Environment Andreas Bjelland Eriksen (Labour Party) says that no one should have any doubt that the Labor Party will pursue a predictable policy for oil and gas companies.

“It is not the exploration activity that has caused Rosenberg and ConocoPhillips to have to reduce staff. It is the demand,” says the minister.

His concern is that the Liberal Party and the Conservative Party will discontinue industrial investment in the green industries.

“The Norwegian shelf looks different now than it did before. We politicians have to deal with that,” he says.

Bjelland Eriksen says that the development of green energy on the Norwegian shelf should have started sooner.

“The industry must have more legs to stand on if they want to be in the region in the future,” he adds.

Aibel: Significant Decline#

The supplier company Aibel has about 3,900 of its own employees in Norway. They are also experiencing tougher times.

“The number of assignments in the supplier industry is currently falling, and we see that there will be a significant decline in newbuilding and project activity on the Norwegian shelf in the coming years. This affects the entire industry, and we are following the development closely,” says communications director Mona Winge.

She says the company is completely dependent on a significant replenishment of new contracts to secure work for its employees in the years ahead.

“Over the autumn, we will work closely with our union representatives to get the best possible overview of the situation and understand what consequences this may have for the company and our employees.”

At the Westcon shipyard in Ølensvåg, they have no plans to reduce staff and say that they have enough to do, at least for a year and a half to come.

Nevertheless, CEO of Westcon Group, Jarle Christian Sørhaug, believes that the industry needs to get better conditions in Norway.

“The framework conditions are not good in Norway. They must be improved considerably for the shipbuilding industry going forward so that Norway can actually have such an industry in the future,” Sørhaug tells NRK.

What Conditions Are You Referring To?#

“It is about the general framework conditions. It is easier to get subsidies to build abroad than in Norway. Then something is wrong,” Sørhaug replies.

Source: NRK (in Norwegian)