据石油世界网4月8日奥斯陆报道,西欧最大的石油生产国挪威正在逐渐失去其对石油的热爱。
令挪威强大的石油行业及其工会沮丧的是,挪威反对党工党(Labor Party)上周末决定撤回其对挪威北极敏感的罗弗敦群岛(Lofoten islands)近海石油勘探的支持,从而在议会中创造了阻止该地区进行油气勘探活动的稳固的多数席位。
挪威最大政党的这一戏剧性转变是对石油行业获得支持的一个重大打击,可能标志着这个斯堪的纳维亚国家正在接近一个时代的终结,而这个时代曾使挪威成为全球最富裕的国家之一。
以挪威最大的石油生产商、国有控股的Equinor为首的石油公司表示,在资源枯竭之际,如果挪威希望维持生产,获得罗弗敦群岛附近海域的开采权是关键。据估计,罗弗敦群岛附近海域估计拥有10亿到30亿桶石油储量。此外,罗弗敦群岛也被认为是一个自然奇观。
挪威石油和天然气协会主管埃里克·卡尔说:“整个行业都感到惊讶和失望,它不能提供我们所依赖的可预测性。”
然而,挪威工党的决定并不令人意外。由于人们对气候变化的担忧日益加剧,挪威人开始质疑他们最大的出口和财富来源。甚至一些石油高管也已经放弃了罗弗敦群岛近海的油气勘探作业。由于政治妥协,罗弗敦群岛近海多年来一直被禁止进入。
但现在的争论可能会转向是否应该继续在巴伦支海进行油气钻探作业。石油行业还担心石油税,以及为不盈利的公司提供有吸引力的勘探退款。
李 峻 编译自 石油世界
原文如下:
Norway is walking away from billions of barrels of oilOSLO
Western Europe's biggest petroleum producer is falling out of love with oil.
To the dismay of the nation's powerful oil industry and its worker unions, the opposition Labor Party over the weekend decided to withdraw its support for oil exploration offshore the sensitive Lofoten islands in Norway's Arctic, creating a solid majority in parliament to keep the area off limits for drilling.
The dramatic shift by Norway's biggest party is a significant blow to the support the oil industry has enjoyed, and could signal that the Scandinavian nation is coming closer to the end of an era that made it one of the world's most affluent.
Oil companies led by state-controlled Equinor ASA , the biggest Norwegian producer, have said that gaining access to Lofoten is key if the country wants to maintain production as resources are being depleted. Estimates suggest that 1 billion to 3 billion barrels could be hiding off the archipelago, which is also considered a natural wonder.
“The whole industry is surprised and disappointed,” said Karl Eirik Schjott-Pedersen, head of the Norwegian Oil and Gas Association. “It doesn't provide the predictability we depend on.”
Yet Labor's decision wasn't a big surprise. Norwegians are starting to question their biggest export and source of wealth amid growing concerns over climate change. Even some oil executives had already given up on Lofoten, which has been kept off limits for years thanks to political compromises.
But the battle will now likely move on to whether drilling should continue in the Barents Sea. The oil industry also fears petroleum taxes and an attractive exploration refund for companies that aren't profitable.