Borten Moe visited Brookings

Norwegian Minister of Petroleum and Energy Ola Borten Moe last Friday gave a lecture on the Norwegian petroleum policy at the Brookings Institution in Washington, D.C.

In his remarks Borten Moe stressed that Norway has a long history in petroleum activities in Arctic waters.

- In Norway, the first exploration well in the Barents Sea was drilled more than 30 years ago. The first discovery was made soon after this part of the continental shelf became available for petroleum activities. Through a thorough process, involving all stakeholders, we established broad consensus about establishing the Barents Sea as a petroleum province, Borten Moe stated.

The Norwegian minister also underscored that the petroleum activity on the Norwegian continental shelf are based on the highest standards of health, safety and environment.

- This is of course true also for our activities in the Arctic. It is the common responsibility of each of the Arctic coastal states and the petroleum industry to implement and apply such standards, Borten Moe said.

During his visit to Washington D.C. on Friday, the Norwegian minister also met US minister of interior, Ken Salazar, energy minister Steven Chu and special envoy and coordinator for international energy affairs, Carlos Pasqual. Among the topics discussed were the US energy market in light of the increased production of shale gas and shale oil, safety in the petroleum sector, carbon capture and storage (CCS) and renewable energy in the United States and Norway.

Borten Moe also briefed on his visits earlier in the week  to the Bakken shale oil field in North Dakota and the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) in Denver, Colorado.

Full text of the presentation (must be checked agains delivery).