Ms Kristin Maroy Stockman First Secretary
Royal Norwegian Embassy O S
n the 16th. June we were visited by the delightful
Kristin Maroy Stockman, from the political department of the Norwegian Embassy. She was hosted by the „lucky‟ Jim Haines who claimed to have business links with
Norway…. Anyway, after a brief introduction by our esteemed treasurer Kirstin proceeded to tell us about her beautiful country.
he began by talking about three of the most valuable resources that this rather small country has, namely oil,
fishing and hydro power. Until the 1960‟s the country was not aware that there were such large deposits of oil, but today there are over 60 fields in operation on the continental shelf. The first one, the Echo, was opened in 1969 and remains the largest producer of oil and now gas. Norway is the 2nd. largest producer of gas behind Russia, and the production is predicted to grow which is good news for the main European consumers Germany, the UK and Belgium.
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ith a very large coastline (if you include all the islands it is 83,000 Kms long) it is not surprising that
for many years the main source of income for very many families is fishing. Equally unsurprising is the fact that a large amount of fish is consumed by Norwegians despite the fact that 97% of the catch is exported, primarily to France, Russia and Denmark. We are all aware that most of the fish is caught in the traditional way, but fish farming is on the increase.
he third great resource is Hydro electric power, and Norway has 350 dams with barriers 50 metres high.
They have been producing electricity this way for one hundred years and today 97% of their power is based on HEP. Inter-connected with these industries is Norway‟s No.1 priority, the development of the High North - an area of some 175,000 sq. kms. So much is happening in this once disputed area as the country seeks to increase its knowledge of the resources. For the past 30yrs. Norway has been in dispute with Russia due to the great potential of this region but through International law and discussion without war the decision was eventually reached, to the satisfaction of both countries, to divide the area into approximately 2 equal parts.
K C
irstin pointed out that climate change was affecting the development of the area in many ways. Since 1979
the ice has retreated by 35% which has made the valuable resource even more accessible, but it is becoming obvious that there are still many undiscovered resources which is why the region is so very important to Norway.
limate change has also opened the up the route to the East in a big way. The Northern sea route from
Shanghai to Hamburg is significantly shorter than the traditional route through the Suez Canal. This means there is a possible saving in time and fuel if this route could be used more often, although this option is still fraught with difficulties and there is still the need for ice breakers and a reliable rescue service.
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ith the increase of wealth through the
development of these much needed resources Norway was faced with the „problem‟ of what to do with all this money that oil was generating. As a result of this dilemma, in 1990 Nor- way started a national Pen- sion Fund by investing in companies throughout the world. One such recent investment was the purchase of 113 properties in Regent Street! The idea behind this move is to build up a huge fund to act as a buffer for the future generations of Norwegians for when the oil runs out, and of course it will someday. There are very strict rules when it comes to spending and investing these profits and the main one is that ownership of a company should not exceed 10%. This ensures that the risks involved in such ventures are spread.
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ith much admiration for the way that Norway was investing it‟s wealth for future generations Kristin
brought her talk to a close and invited questions, which included some of the following - albeit in an abbreviated form.
the quota is controlled. the incentive to work? A. There is still some
Q. Does Norway still have a whaling fleet? A. Yes but Q. With all this wealth stored up for the future what is
unemployment in Norway, but generally speaking the population has a very healthy work ethic.
Q. Are there lots of political parties? A. (To much Q. What happened to Quisling? A. After the war he was
amusement) Norway is governed by a coalition but there are 5 main parties and some smaller ones.
Q. You have not mentioned the tourist industry, is this sentence to death. big? A. Yes is very important and most tourists come
from Germany and Japan. (Jim recounted a trip up the beautiful fjords and advised that many cruise ships now travel to Norway each year.)
Q.What was the feeling about the split from Sweden?
A. when it first happened there was some tension but
this did not result in a war and generally today there are no regrets on both side as they are two different countries with their own history and identity..
A
fter this very lively Q and A session came to a close it fell upon the mighty shoulders of Colin Davies
(a frequent visitor to the waters of Norway on his many sailing trips) who heaped praise upon the much slighter shoulders of our guest, and the members showed their appreciation in the normal way.
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Story supplied by George & Photos by Colin
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