– Seabed minerals are not part of Equinor’s strategy or investment areas, writes Gisle Ledel Johannessen, Equinor’s press officer in an e-mail to news. In the spring, the government will open up exploration and extraction of minerals from Norway’s seabed. They believe that minerals will be important to bring about the green shift, because minerals are needed for everything from solar panels to batteries. In addition, it could become a new gold mine for the country. But the plans have received strong criticism from both scientists and environmental organizations for not taking enough account of the ecosystems at the bottom of the sea. A robot works at an underwater volcano approximately 1,000 km west of Bergen. Beneath the volcanoes there may be minerals. Photo: KG Jebsen Center for Deep Sea Research / UiB Now the largest player on the Norwegian continental shelf is calling for more knowledge about the consequences for the marine environment. Equinor recommends a “precautionary approach” in its consultation response to the Ministry of Petroleum and Energy (OED). Furthermore, the company advocates “that arrangements are made for sufficient time to be set aside to build up knowledge of possible environmental consequences that correspond to the increased activity.” The impact assessment on the case has been under consultation since October. The deadline is on Friday. Has been interested before Equinor has previously shown an interest in seabed minerals. In a consultation response to OED in 2021, they wrote that exploration and extraction on the Norwegian continental shelf “can become a fundamental element in developing new value chains and maturing a new industry based on Norwegian offshore technology and existing expertise in land-based industry.” They have also previously been a partner organization in the Norwegian Forum for Marine Minerals, which works to promote the industry in Norway. Equinor confirms to news that they have opted out. – For some years, we have participated in research and knowledge acquisition related to seabed minerals, but this has not been prioritized as part of Equinor’s strategy or areas of focus, Johannessen writes. The seabed off Jan Mayen may contain minerals of great value. Photo: Heiko Junge / NTB Strong environmental criticism Oil and Energy Minister Terje Aasland (Ap) has previously said that a prerequisite for extraction is that it can take place “with an acceptable degree of environmental impact”. But many critics believe that the government is moving too quickly to be able to ensure this. The Norwegian Institute of Marine Research states that we have very little knowledge about the ecosystems in the areas in question, and calls for a major increase in knowledge. The Norwegian Polar Institute believes that extraction will probably lead to irreversible changes to the seabed. Many of the species in the deep sea have not even been described yet, the researchers warn. Image is from the Mareano mapping of the Jan Mayen ridge in 2014. Photo: Mareano / Norwegian Institute of Marine Research – It is very good that Equinor recognizes the possible environmental consequences of both exploration and extraction, and recommends a precautionary approach, where sufficient time to acquire the necessary knowledge, says Secretary General of the WWF World Wildlife Fund, Karoline Andaur. – That is why the environmental organisations, hundreds of researchers and many large international companies have advocated a moratorium, a temporary ban, against mining on the seabed. We cannot open new, potentially very harmful industry in Norwegian sea areas. Therefore, the opening process must be stopped until the knowledge is in place, she says. WWF welcomes Equinor’s position. Photo: Elin Eike Worren / WWF World Wide Fund for Nature Communications Manager Arvid Samland in OED writes in an e-mail that it is not natural for the ministry to comment on individual statements as long as the consultation round is still ongoing. – When the hearing is finished, we will go through all the input that has come in, he writes.
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The government wants to look for minerals on the seabed – Equinor is not interested – news Norway – Overview of news from different parts of the country
