An abnormally large number of drones have been observed on the Norwegian continental shelf recently. After the gas leak in the Austersjøen, several oil companies and the police have now increased preparedness. On Wednesday, Europower wrote that drones have been reported at several power plants in Norway. The same has happened at land plants for oil and gas in Western Norway, the police confirmed to news. The police have received several tips about this in 2022. news knows that it concerns, among other things, Equinor’s facility at Mongstad, in Alver municipality north of Bergen. Mongstad is a supply base for petroleum in the North Sea. Suspect foreign intelligence Chief of Staff Gustav Landro in the West police district of the police confirms that they are working on several such cases linked to oil and gas plants. He said that they have had several observations of drones over land facilities in the West police district. – It is observations that are suspicious that we look at the most. They are suspicious because they happen at times when they are perhaps not meant to be discovered. – The message we want to get out is that we are happy for people to register. People in Western Norway know that we are sitting on great international values in our area, says Gustav Landro in the police. Photo: Kaja Hauge / news He points out that it could be drone activity at night, where the drones can, among other things, drive without lights and in places where it is not allowed. – One of the things we work with in such cases is to find out whether this could be foreign intelligence, says Landro. Landro asks people to call the police if they see drone activity over oil and gas facilities, or other land facilities such as power stations. Guard intervened during interview Today, the Petroleum Safety Authority had an extraordinary meeting in the security forum about unidentified drones in the North Sea. – It is a demanding situation, says Director of the Authority, Anne Myhrvold. Trustee Kjetil Gjerstad at the facility at Mongstad says he is happy that the level of safety has been raised. – It is of course serious that foreign drones are observed near our facility, he says. Right next to the oil plant at Mongstad, a meeting of the Vestland County Council is taking place today. – It is worrying that foreign drones have been observed at the facility, says county mayor Jon Askeland (Sp). The county politicians in Vestland unanimously adopted a statement in which it is stated that they are “strongly concerned about the increase and unusual drone activity in the North Sea”. The county council emphasizes that preparedness linked to infrastructure and installations along the coast must have a high priority. The statement has been sent to the Ministry of Justice. Researcher Tor Ivar Strømmen at the Naval Academy believes that the level of preparedness in Norway may be raised even further in the coming days. Photo: Valentina Baisotti / news I think that preparedness will be stepped up soon. The Westland politicians can be heard in a short time, believes researcher Tor Ivar Strømmen at the Naval Academy. The defense expert believes that the level of preparedness in Norway may be raised even further in the next few days. – Then, for example, I would like to see that we get a restricted area around installations. I hope I can get the home security in place. We will have completely different control over who goes in and out of the area, and not least increased control over the transport of goods in and out. Active combating of drones is also a possibility if the preparedness level is raised, says Strømmen. Two suspicious cases at electricity company NVE reports that drones have been observed around the Norwegian power grid. Observations of cars and people with cameras have also been made, says Eldri Holo, section manager for emergency preparedness in NVE. news has investigated drone activity with several power companies. The electricity company Elvia has had two suspicious cases of drone activity at power installations in the interior in recent months. The last case was a few days ago, says communications manager Morten Schau. – I can confirm that our employees, or people on assignment for us, have observed suspicious drone activity in these two cases. Suspicious drones, cars and people with cameras have been observed around the Norwegian power grid and power installations recently, reports the industry. Photo: Stian Lysberg Solum / Stian Lysberg Solum Low threshold for reporting Eldri Holo in NVE tells news that they have asked the industry to have a low threshold for reporting if they see something suspicious. – It is the individual actor who must take care of safety. – How many observations have they received reports of? – I cannot comment on that, says Holo. She reasons that they don’t know if it is innocent drone play, or if it is actually someone who has tried to map power plants. Holo says they have followed the situation closely since February and are continuously assessing whether it is necessary to implement measures. NVE’s section manager for emergency preparedness, Eldri Holo, says it is up to the individual operator to ensure safety. But NVE is following the situation closely, she says. Photo: Silje Rognsvåg / news – It is a serious situation, she says. Do you think Russian drones are behind Senior researcher Erik Reichborn-Kjennerud at Nupi says drone activity at Norwegian facilities is probably connected to the situation in Russia. – Then it is to see what they look like and where it is possible to get in. Or where one should preferably hit with a missile, says Reichborn-Kjennerud. He adds: – I think we have to accept that this war is at a stage where things can escalate and that it can happen quite quickly, he says. Erik Reichborn-Kjennerud, senior researcher at Nupi researches modern warfare. Photo: Øyvind Bye Skille / news – Are you afraid of full-scale war in Europe? – No, I slept well. The potential is there enough, but Russia does not have conventional means to attack a NATO country. It won’t be a full-scale war. In that case, it will be fought with nuclear weapons. It’s that or nothing. Haven’t seen anything suspicious Communications advisor Hanne Liv Refsnes at Agder Energi says for security reasons they cannot comment on whether they have experienced anything abnormal. Norsk Hydro says they have not made such observations about their installations. – We have not registered any abnormal activity, but we are even more vigilant, says media contact Anders Vindegg. He says they will report any abnormal activity. Nor have Hafslund Eco, Lyse Energi or Haugaland Kraft seen unidentified drones around their power stations. The same applies to Tafjord Kraftproduksjon in Sunnmøre, but they have asked the employees to be extra careful going forward.
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The police are investigating after drones were seen over Mongstad and other land facilities
