Norway's largest oil and gas companies want to resume the search for oil and gas deposits in the Arctic, in particular in the Barents Sea, in order to be a key supplier of energy resources to Europe under new geopolitical circumstances.
This is reported by Bloomberg.
Experts assume that up to 60% of Norway's undiscovered energy deposits can be located in the Barents Sea. However, so far there have been few cases of successful development, and due to the lack of infrastructure, it has been difficult and questionably profitable.
However, after the Russian attack on Ukraine and Europe's decision to refuse Russian energy resources, Norway has become the largest supplier, and demand is only growing.
"The status quo is no longer an option. Even if we want to maintain production at this level, we need to develop and find more resources," comments CEO of Var Energi ASA Torger Rod.
Last week, Minister of Oil and Energy Terje Aasland came to one of Norway's northernmost cities and in his speech called on the heads of oil and gas companies to "turn over every stone" in search of fields in the Barents Sea.
At the same time, scientists and eco-activists may oppose the increase in development - a few years ago, they already filed a lawsuit against the government on this issue, arguing that in the climate crisis it is irresponsible and can be interpreted as a violation of fundamental human rights. At the appellate instance, the claim was then rejected and the case ended up at the ECtHR.
As a reminder, the public broadcasters of Denmark, Norway, Sweden and Finland, based on the conclusions of a joint investigation, assume that Russian warships and civilian "ghost ships" in the Baltic and North Seas collect data for sabotage against wind power plants, gas pipelines and communication cables.
