– We, Norway, must continue to ensure a secure energy supply to Europe, Støre maintained in front of a packed hall.
On Tuesday, the Prime Minister’s first speech was during the annual autumn conference of the oil company Equinor in the Norske Teatret in Oslo.
The conference functions as a large gathering for leaders in the energy industry, financiers and politicians. Støre warned the industry that there will be no abrupt cuts from the Norwegian side, even though the world’s energy consumption is changing.
He referred to Norway’s role as supplier of a third of gas to Europe and Great Britain after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
– The oil industry must develop offshore wind
– We will continue to develop the Norwegian continental shelf as a stable and long-term supplier and with an active extraction policy, said Støre.
At the same time, he highlighted the investments in CO2 capture, hydrogen, offshore wind and, not least, floating offshore wind.
Støre believes the oil industry is the right place to develop this industry.
– It is deep along our coast, so the sea wind must be flowing. This technology must be developed. It is still immature and the costs are high, but the oil industry is the right one to bet on this, he stated.
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– Europe has lost its advantages
The head of the international energy agency IEA, Fatih Birol, has been a regular guest speaker at Equinor’s autumn conference for several years. On Tuesday, he drew a picture of how the demand for oil in the world will fall in the coming years, and that everything will become increasingly electric.
– Consumers all over the world will turn their backs on fossil-fuel cars, and not least global warming will lead to increased sales of heat pumps for cooling, solar cells and batteries.
Birol also commented that Europe has lost the advantages it once had and that there is a need for a new master plan to create new industry.
– Europe has made some big mistakes. One was the dependence on Russian gas, the other was that they turned their backs on nuclear power. Today, gas in Europe is five times more expensive than in the USA and four times more expensive than in China, Birol said, pointing to the consequences that expensive energy has on industry and jobs.
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Demonstrators
Protesters from Extinction Rebellion managed to delay the start of the conference by 14 minutes on Tuesday morning.
The demonstrators held their ground outside throughout the morning.
The protests were aimed at Equinor collaborating with Ithaca Energy, a subsidiary of the Israeli energy company Delek Group, to develop the Rosebank field west of Shetland.
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