Norway’s oil industry pushing for exploration in sensitive areas

Despite widespread resistance from environmental groups and the present government, the Norwegian Oil Industry Association is pushing forward with its fight to open promising areas of gas and oil exploration off the northern Norway coast.

The Barents Observer reports that as many as seven billion barrels of oil could be hidden under the continental shelf off the northern shores of Norway. The oil industry feels confident it’s there, and in cooperation with political opposition parties the two forces are increasing the pressure on the Norwegian government to allow these areas to be opened up to exploration and extraction.

SIKUnews states that while the current Norwegian government has been adamant about protecting the pristine coastal areas in the north of the country, opposition political groups like the Progress Party and the Conservative Party have begun calling for a change in the agenda.

The Norwegian Oil Industry Association wants the government to stop balking and speed up mapping efforts of the unexplored parts of the sea where potential gas and oil reserves may be hiding. They claim that if Norway doesn’t open new fields to oil development with in the next few years, Norwegian oil production will drop to half of its 2000 level by 2014.