The case in summary: More young people are applying for oil-related subjects at Norwegian universities, with an increase of 30 per cent at the University of Stavanger and a threefold increase at NTNU since 2022. Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre and Energy Minister Terje Aasland believe that the oil industry should be developed, not discontinued, and that Norway should use the experience from the oil and gas age into the new age. Greenpeace Norway believes that it is the state and the oil companies’ major investment, not the energy crisis, that has led to more young people wanting to enter the oil industry. Equinor has taken on around 2,600 new employees per year in recent years, many of whom are young, and the company plans to halve its Norwegian emissions by 2030. A survey by Norstat nevertheless shows that the majority prefer to develop renewable energy rather than look for more oil and gas. The summary is made by an AI service from OpenAI. The content is quality assured by news’s journalists before publication. “Generation Greta Thunberg is dead,” said Unge Høyre leader Ola Svenneby after the right won the school election in 2023. He believes it is not right that most young people today are “radicalized and actionist”. At the same time that the activist group Extinction Rebellion made its mark at the ONS energy fair in Stavanger, there were many young people who spoke with great interest to people who work in the oil industry. More will work in the oil industry. – Good pay – I want to work in oil, says Torkil Sjøgren Ursin (17). He was with classmates at ONS. One of the world’s largest energy fairs. Many oil companies from all over the world were present here. Like Torkil Sjøgren Ursin, Kristian Kvame Lorentzen wants a job in oil. Ursin wants to work onshore in Norway, but he wants to go on many trips and meetings abroad. Photo: Simon Elias Bogen / news A career in oil, says Ursin, seems interesting. And lucrative. – It’s a good salary. And although there may not be as much oil in the future, there are a lot of energy possibilities. The experience he gets from oil, he believes, will be very useful. – We will always need energy. You get new jobs easily, he says. In the oil and gas industry, employees have an average salary of NOK one million, according to Nettavisen. High number of applicants More and more are applying to petroleum-related courses at Norwegian universities. At the University of Stavanger (UiS), the number of applicants for energy and petroleum technology has increased by 30 per cent since last year. Andrew Kilmartin works in the technical and natural sciences faculty at UiS. He says there are more and more applicants for the petroleum education each year. Photo: Simon Elias Bogen / news Georesources and geotechnology at NTNU had 120 first-priority applicants this year. That is a tripling from 2022. Støre: – Develop, not liquidate – We want to develop and not liquidate the oil industry, says Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre. By develop, the Prime Minister means that we should cut emissions and develop the new forms of energy that are renewable. – Norway must use the knowledge and experience from the oil and gas age in the new age. From the Johan Sverdrup field in the North Sea. Photo: Ole Andreas Bø Energy Minister Terje Aasland (Ap) says the energy crisis has made it clear how closely interconnected all parts of the energy system are. – We need renewable energy, we need oil and gas and we need new low-emission technologies. Oil and gas from the Norwegian continental shelf, he says, makes an important contribution to safe and affordable access to energy in Europe. Aasland believes that the applicant numbers for petroleum-related subjects help to confirm the opportunities that exist in the energy industries. – We know that by 2030, many who work in the industry will retire. The need for expertise is great. Energy Minister Terje Aasland (Ap) says it’s about getting a job with meaning and solving the energy transition with more energy and less emissions. Photo: Ole Berg-Rusten / NTB Greenpeace blames the oil industry Frode Pleym is head of Greenpeace Norway. He believes that it is not the energy crisis that has made more young people want to get into oil, but something else. – The oil industry and the state are splurging on new oil exploration and new licences. Leader of Greenpeace Norway, Frode Pleym. He believes that young people choose to go into oil because the state has made it a stable and lucrative industry to work in. Photo: ISMAIL BURAK AKKAN / news That is why it is not surprising that young people want to go into oil, he believes. For: – People need a job that feels stable. I am absolutely certain that young people would choose sustainable jobs if it was perceived as an alternative, says Pleym. Not afraid of losing his job Christer Agnor Gundersen (20) is permanently employed as a process operator on the Johan Sverdrup field. He is not afraid of losing his job. – The entire period I have worked, I have been confident that I might have a job here until I retire. Christer Agnor Gundersen started as an apprentice in the North Sea. Now the 20-year-old is a permanent employee at the Johan Sverdrup field. Photo: Ole Andreas Bø / news He is happy with his job and says it is a good environment with many people his age. – The oil industry is here to stay, he believes. Thinks it could be a good idea Climate and Environment Minister Andreas Bjelland Eriksen (Ap) believes that today’s oil industry is necessary for what is to come. Climate and Environment Minister Andreas Bjelland Eriksen (Ap). Here from ONS in Stavanger. Photo: Simon Elias Bogen / news – Oil and gas can still be a piece in an emission-free energy system. I believe that the industry will find a good number of the answers needed in the coming years, says the minister. Equinor CEO Anders Opedal believes the oil industry is a fantastic place to be for young people. – We invest significant sums in removing CO₂ from the production of oil and gas. Equinor must halve its Norwegian emissions by 2030 in order to safeguard its competitiveness through the energy transition. Opedal says they therefore need young, sharp minds to enter the industry. – We invest both in the energy that the world needs today, with ever-lower emissions, at the same time as we invest in the energy system we need tomorrow. Will contribute to a greener transition Press spokesperson Ellen Maria Skjelsbæk at Equinor says they have taken on around 2,600 new employees per year in recent years. Many of these are young. – We have good numbers of applicants both for positions within renewables and oil and gas. Press contact at Equinor, Ellen Maria Skjelsbæk. Photo: Arne Reidar Mortensen What young people are concerned about at the job interviews for Equinor, says Skjelsbæk, is that they can contribute to a greener energy transition. – Many people find it exciting to work offshore and on land, she says. – Can never be green A new survey by Norstat for Renewable Norway shows that the majority prefers to develop renewable energy rather than looking for more oil and gas. Pleym in Greenpeace believes the oil industry can never become green. – There are also a lot of young people who do not want to go into oil. Published 03/09/2024, at 22.11
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