Oil industry can be eco-friendly, Norway

Caspian Energy (CE): Recently, Her Excellency Prime Minister of Norway has announced the launch of the project on capture and storage of carbon produced from production and processing of crude. Do you consider it possible to fully ban oil production in the Arctic latitudes or in the Arctic after climate warming with the aim of preserving the ecology of this huge very ecologically sensitive basin?

Tina Bru, Minister of Petroleum and Energy of Norway: The petroleum activity in Norway has moved further north over time. Our most unexplored areas are in the Barents Sea, where most of our expected, but yet unproven resources are located. 40 years of petroleum activity in the Barents Sea has shown that it is quite possible to have prudent, safe and sustainable petroleum activity in these areas, while at the same time maintaining a good environmental status in the ocean. The history of petroleum activity in Norway has shown that there is no incompatibility between having a profitable petroleum industry and maintaining a good environmental status of the ocean.  

Longship, the carbon capture and stora­ge (CCS) project the Norwegian Prime Minister recently has announced, includes capture from a cement factory and a waste-to-energy facility, transport of CO2 by ship and permanent storage of CO2 deep under the seabed in the North Sea. It does not address emissions from production and processing of crude. With the knowledge currently available, CCS will be necessary on a large scale if we are to meet the climate targets at the lowest possible cost. We believe this project will lower the hurdle for new CCS projects in Europe.