– I expect that SV guarantees already now that they will not vote for a state budget that contributes to the development of Wisting. It could mean the hook on the door for the development, and it is one of the most important environmental layers that will now come forward. This is what MDG’s parliamentary representative Lan Marie Berg says. She is disappointed that SV this spring negotiated and voted for a state budget where Wisting and a number of other oil fields are still inside. – It is clear that it is the Labor Party and the Socialist People’s Party who have the main responsibility in that they are pushing for more and more oil and gas. But they are also dependent on SV to get their state budget approved in the Storting, says Berg. STOP: SV must not support more state budgets where the Wisting field is located, MDGs Lan Marie Berg believes. Photo: Annika Byrde / NTB The controversial Wisting field is pointed out by the environmental movement as the next major oil slick in Norwegian politics. By all accounts, the battle against oil activity in Lofoten, Vesterålen and Senja has been won. The Wisting field is the largest project on the Norwegian shelf. Neither MDG nor SV hesitate to describe the field as a climate bomb. At the same time, the field is located 300 kilometers from land, far north in the Barents Sea, in the middle of a vulnerable natural area. This creates great unrest both in terms of emergency preparedness and how a possible oil spill will affect nature. And without the very favorable oil tax package that the Storting adopted in 2020, the field would hardly have become something of. More on that later. – No majority In a letter to the Storting, Minister of Trade and Industry Jan Christian Vestre (Labor Party) now writes that this year NOK 26.5 billion has been allocated in investments for the State’s direct financial involvement (SDFI), according to the Minister. – These investments are distributed with NOK 22.5 billion on fields in operation, NOK 2.8 billion on fields under development and NOK 1.2 billion on fields under assessment, Vestre writes. Wisting is thus in the latter category. SHOUTS: SV’s Lars Haltbrekken is trying to get the government parties involved in a more restrictive oil and gas policy. Photo: Håkon Mosvold Larsen / NTB Equinor has announced that a so-called PDO – plan for development and operation – for Wisting will be presented before Christmas. – I can guarantee that SV will go towards the Wisting field. It comes as a separate matter to the Storting. It is not through the state budget that that case is decided, says SV’s energy and environmental policy spokesman Lars Haltbrekken to news. – Does it give you a little bad taste in your mouth to vote for a budget where you spend 26.5 billion kroner on oil and gas extraction? – We want to stop all new oil and gas extraction. Unfortunately, there is no majority in the Storting for that today. Stopped three blocks But has SV had any impact on Norwegian oil and gas policy at all? Yes, Haltbrekken believes: SV has ensured that there will be no new oil drilling at the ice edge this year. In the agreement on the revised national budget this spring, SV won approval to withdraw 3 of the 31 oil blocks at the ice edge that are part of the next so-called APA round. APA stands for allocation in predefined areas. Last autumn, SV ensured that there will be no ordinary distribution of new oil fields to the oil companies, a licensing round, this year. The question of the 26th licensing round has been put on hold, but it has not been clarified what can happen in the long run. – These have been important victories. We have shown that we have managed to move oil policy in the right direction, says Haltbrekken. MDG’s Lan Marie Berg is still not impressed. – Unfortunately, this is largely the status quo in oil policy. They continue to expand and look for more oil. The repercussions SV has had in the state budget are fading against an allocation of NOK 26.5 billion for new oil and gas fields. LONG-TERM: Already in 2015, there were demonstrations outside the Storting against oil activity around the ice edge. Photo: Berit Roald / NTB scanpix – Huge problem For Equinor, it will be important to put in place a plan for developing the operation of the field before Christmas. Then the field will come under the favorable oil tax package from 2020. The deadline for benefiting from the favorable conditions expires at the New Year. The package was adopted as crisis aid to the oil industry at a time when the oil price due to the pandemic moved to the 20s. The proposal from the Solberg government was initially neutral for taxpayers, but the package was sharply raised in the Storting. It attracted attention when former Prime Minister Erna Solberg (H) in an interview with news recently stated that the package was too favorable. SV proposed, but did not succeed in ending the crisis package when the Storting this spring adopted a new tax regime for the oil industry. – It is clear that the oil tax package is a huge problem. Before the oil tax package arrived, Oscar Wisting was in a drawer. It was made artificially profitable by the oil tax package, says Haltbrekken. – That you continue the insanely favorable oil tax package, means that you expand more fields that have previously been considered unprofitable, says MDGs Lan Marie Berg. Equinor also points to the importance of the oil tax package. – The temporary tax scheme from 2020 was important for the project when the oil price collapsed during the pandemic. In a period of high uncertainty, we could continue to mature Wisting as planned, writes director Trond Bokn for project development in Equinor recently in a post. Vulnerable nature – enormous values The investment cost for Wisting is estimated at between NOK 60 and 75 billion. This may mean that the state, through its ownership, will spend many billions on developing the field. However, the investments will be repaid within four years, according to Equinor’s calculations. They also show that Wisting will make a profit over the lifetime of 40 billion, including taxes. – The majority will accrue to society through the state’s ownership shares, taxes and fees, Bokn writes. VULNERABLE: The debate about the ice edge is about nature conservation and management of the engine itself in the ecosystem Norway harvests along the Norwegian coast, and about mapping new areas that may be potential for oil activity. Photo: Arne Nævra / Arne Nævra Production is scheduled to start in 2028, and the field has an estimated lifespan of 30 years. Climate risk and climate emissions as a result of the combustion of oil and gas from Wisting are not the only concerns related to the development. At least as central to the discussion are preparedness and vulnerable nature. The Norwegian Environment Agency has issued a very critical consultation statement, which DN has mentioned. It is pointed out that the area has the world’s highest density of seabirds, and that the development is located in an area that is far from land with very challenging climatic conditions. This makes it very demanding to conduct oil spill preparedness. The Directorate believes that Wisting “is not ripe for PDO approval”.
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Controversial oil field nears development – received budget support from SV – news Norway – Overview of news from different parts of the country
