As the prices of oil is rising like anything else the oilmen have for some time been eyeing the picturesque archipelago, where high mountains plunge down into the sea. It is fact that Norway is currently the world’s fifth-biggest oil exporter, but it has seen its production of black gold decline since peaking in 2001. It is said that there have been no major discoveries in recent years to provide a glimmer of hope once its aging, dwindling wells dry up.
Oerjan Birkeland, exploration manager for StatoilHydro in the far north, informed that production from the fields currently producing on the Norwegian continental shelf will be reduced by 50 percent by 2023. He added that the region off Lofoten is of interest because we think there is a potential for oil and gas. And that is exactly what environmentalists and fishermen do not want to hear.
There is no doubt that these waters are home to the world’s biggest remaining cod stocks, a species that has been a victim of overfishing in both Europe and North America, as well as the biggest herring stocks. It is told that fishing is the Lofoten Islands’ main commercial activity. The coastline attests to this, dotted with quaint fishing cabins on stilts, some of which have now been converted into shelters for tourists.
According to local source the government, under pressure from environmentalists and itself torn on the issue, has prohibited all oil activities in the unspoiled area until at least 2010, when the issue will be reviewed. With that deadline now just over a year away, StatoilHydro has launched a major charm offensive emphasising its environmental efforts. Locals have also expressed concern about the effect the sight of massive drilling platforms near the coast would have on tourists.
