Norut and petroleum in the north

Contact Persons

Sveinung Eikeland, Norut Alta - Áltá

Eirik Mikkelsen, Norut Tromsø

(E) refers to English text, while (N) refers to Norwegian text.

Current prosjects

Arctic Strategic Impact Assessment

Analysis: The project identifies stakeholders, scope and themes of interest for oil companies in the Arctic. Focus on Alaska, Russia, Canada and Norway.

Commissioners: Environmental resource management group (ERM), London
Partners: altogether 35 researchers involved
Publishing: report for customer
Project leader at the institute: Mette Ravn Midtgard (NSS)

Women and men's representation and influence in the oil- and energy sector (N)

Analysis: The purpose of the project is to provide an overview of women and men in leadership positions of the companies related to the oil- and energy sector. This should inform the sector in the development of plans for increasing women's representation in influential positions.

Commissioners: OED in cooperation with Oljeindustriens Landsforening (OLF), Norsk Industri and Energibedriftenes Landsforening (EBL)
Partners: N/A
Publishing: A Norut-report will be published in May 2006
Project leader at the institute: Ann Therese Lotherington (NSS)

Sustainable development and social issues in the Arctic (E)

Analysis: This article reflects on Norway's coastal zone management experience. It dwells with the tendency to postpone, or even neglect, making the hard decisions and to rationalize non-decision by referring to some beliefs or myths regarding the situation in the coastal zone.

Commissioners: Shell International
Partners: University of Stavanger, University of Fairbanks, University of Calgary
Publishing: Book to be published December 2006
Project member: Mette Ravn Midtgard (NSS)

Prestige - an unpleasant opportunity to update our knowledge on environmental and social consequences (E)

Analysis: This article reflects on Norway's coastal zone management experience. It dwells with the tendency to postpone, or even neglect, making the hard decisions and to rationalize non-decision by referring to some beliefs or myths regarding the situation in the coastal zone.

Commissioners: ENI Norge
Partners: Akvaplan Niva
Publishing: report to be finished spring 2006
Project leader at the institute: Mette Ravn Midtgard (NSS)

Trail research - developing of the Snøhvit field (N)

Analysis: A comprehensive socio-economic analyses of how developing of the Snøhvit field impacts on territorial development. The analysis mainly focuses on new processes inside the influence region, but includes also changes of the territorial systems of the gas- and oil sector.

Commissioners: Statoil, Hammerfest kommune, Finnmark fylkeskommune
Partners: Finnmark University College
Publishing: "Snøhvit barometer" two times every year, annual public reporting. The report of 2005 is available on www.norut.no; the 2006-report is completed during the spring 2006.
Project leader at the institute: Sveinung Eikeland (NNF)

Territorial impacts of the annulment of the agreements between the state and the energy consuming industries regulating the energy prices (N)

Analysis: The project analyses socio-economic impacts of transferring of the long term agreements regulating the energy process by introducing of market based prices. The impacts were estimated for energy consuming industry in North Norway, and impacts for other industrial development in the region and for population changes

Commissioners: Industriforum Nord, the regional authority of the North (Landsdelsutvalget for Nord-Norge og Namdalen), Nordland fylkeskommune
Partners: Utviklingssenteret i Midt-Troms
Publishing: Report at www.lu.no/content/view/1193/125/ and www.utviklingssenteret.no
Project leader at the institute: Stig Karlstad (NNF)

Impacts for reindeer husbandry of developing of the Snøhvit field (and some other gas-/oilfield developing projects)

Analysis: Impacts analysis of the Snøhvit constructions, there have been conducted similar analyses of construction plans in Nordland and a separate analyse of impacts for the Sami population of the gas- and oil activities in the Barents Sea.

Commissioner: Statoil and the Ministries for Petroleum and Energy (OED)
Partners: Institutt for naturforvaltning ved Universitetet for miljø- og biovitenskap, Ås.
Publishing: Reports, available also at www.odin.dep.no
Project leader at the institute: Ingunn Vistnes (workplace at NNF, but employed by Institutt for naturforvaltning ved Universitetet for miljø- og biovitenskap, Ås)

Territorial Impacts Analyses (TIA) of the EU fisheries policies (CFP) (E)

Analysis: The analysis is conducted by the European Spatial Observation Network (ESPON - www.espon.lu) and is part of European assessment of the impacts of sector policies for the territorial system of Europe. The analyses include impacts for the European system of regions, for the European systems of territorial policies and for changes inside regions on different levels.

Commissioner: EU (ESPON)
Partners: Institutes from Italy, Spain, Portugal, Estonia, Denmark, Iceland and Norway
Publishing: 3 reports available at www.espon.lu, the final report will be completed during the summer 2006.
Project leader at the institute: Sveinung Eikeland (NNF)

Trust and Cooperation in the High North

Analysis: The production of social scientific knowledge on conditions hampering and facilitating long-term relations and cooperation across national, ethnic and cultural borders, as well as between private and public actors, is in the forefront. The idea of the programme is to cultivate and direct existing knowledge at Norut Social Science Research Ltd. towards processes of change taking place in the High North, with a distinct view on Norwegian-Russian relations.

Commissioners: Research Council of Norway
Partners: several partners within universities, university colleges in Norway, Iceland, USA, Swede, UK and Russia
Publishing: In 2006 the basic communication of results are related to the programmes four seminars called 'Norut-focus on the High North'.
Project leader at the institute: Ann Therese Lotherington (NSS)

Projects finished by 1. January 2006

Stakeholder participation in Norwegian coastal zone planning (E) 2005

Analysis: The article conclude by addressing some issues of process design and the challenges of stakeholder involvement at a municipal level in Norwegian Coastal Zone planning.

Commissioners: Norwegian Research Council
Partners: University of Tromsø and Norut Nibr Finnmark
Publishing: Ocean & Coastal Management, Volume 48, Issues 9-10, 2005, Pages 658-669
Project leader at the institute: Arild Buanes (NSS)

Challenges and Myths in Norwegian Coastal Zone Management (E) 2005

Analysis: This article reflects on Norway's coastal zone management experience. It dwell with the tendency to postpone, or even neglect, making the hard decisions and to rationalize non-decision by referring to some beliefs or myths regarding the situation in the coastal zone.

Commissioners: Norwegian Research Council
Partners: University of Tromsø
Publishing: Coastal Management, vol. 33 (no. 2, June 2005), 151-165
Project leader at the institute: Svein Jentoft (NSS)

Socio-economic analyse North Norway (N) 2003

Analysis: a description of the demographical and industrial structure from Nordland and further North. Including some development paths, as if land-based petroleum, as no new economic activities at the coast, and as revitalisation of the traditional industries.

Commissioners: Ministry of Oil and Energy
Partners: Agenda
Publishing: Report for Ministry of Oil and Energy's Utredning Lofoten-Barentshavet, which again is a part in the Management Plan for the Barents Sea
Project leader at the institute: Paul Pedersen and Mette Ravn Midtgard (NSS)

Alien species in Norwegian waters (E) 2003

Analysis: The project aim is to investigate the effects of past, present, and probable future introductions and transfers of alien species caused by shipping and maritime-related activities on biodiversity focusing on the unique ecological and societal framework of northern Norway and Svalbard.The main economic and social impacts of invasive alien marine species are negative impacts on human health and decreases in economic production of activities based on marine environments and resources, i.e. fisheries, aquaculture, tourism and marine infrastructure

Commissioners: Norwegian Research Council
Partners: Akvaplan Niva (project manager)
Publishing: Akvaplan-niva report
Project leader at the institute: Arild Buanes (NSS)

Major oil spills and consequences for the fish market (E+N) 2003

Analysis: Using data from earlier oil spills, market data, and theoretical foundation to give perspectives on how an eventual oil spill outside Finnmark might harm the economic interest of this region.

Commissioners: Norsk Agip (now ENI Norge)
Partners: Akvaplan Niva (project leader)
Publishing: Akvaplan-niva report
Project leader at the institute: Mette Ravn Midtgard (NSS)

Snow White (Snøhvit) - inaugurate a new era in North (N) 2002

Analysis: Regional effects on short and long term based on experiences from other gas plant projects in Norway.

Commissioners: Statoil, Innovasjon Norge, Sparebank1 Nord-Norge and Næringslivsdagene I Nord-Norge
Publishing: open NSS report and part of the twice a year state of the market for North Norway; Konjunkturbarometer Nord-Norge.
Project leader: Mette Ravn Midtgard (NSS)

Oil and gas in the Arctic Ocean (E) 2002

Analysis: Social, industrial, cultural (indigenous people) and economic effects of increased oil and gas exploration in the Arctic Ocean.

Commissioners: Arctic Council
Partners: none
Publishing: Report for 8. Arctic Council meeting and part of the conference book
Project leader at the institute: Mette Ravn Midtgard (NSS)

Petroleum scenarios for the Barents Sea North (N) 1996

Analysis: The report focuses on the challenges that the northern part of the Barents Sea will face due to exploration and exploitation of petroleum resources in this area.

Commissioners: Ministry of Industry and Energy
Publishing: NSS report
Project participant: Margrethe Aanesen (NSS)

North Norwegian engineering industry on the petroleum market (N) 1996

Analysis: the report undercover the problems and reasons behind the problems that the north Norwegian engineering industry faces when trying to enter the petroleum manufacturing industries.

Commissioners: Landsdelsutvalget for Nord-Norge og Nord-Trøndelag
Publishing: report FiFo 04.1996 (now NNF)
Project leader: Dagny Haga and Mette Ravn Midtgard (NNF)

Other delieveries

Several submissions to the Management Plan Lofoten-Barentshavet and strategy inputs to governmental institutions.