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The Norwegian American: Equinor blows into the Empire State

Business News, Energy, , ,

Norwegians were involved in building many of the skyscrapers in New York City in the old days. Now, it is time for some Norwegian construction at sea south of the city.

Equinor Empire Wind won New York State’s first offshore wind electricity contract, Gov. Andrew Cuomo announced on July 18. The award is a win for all sides. New York consumers will have access to renewable energy, and it jumpstarts the state toward its renewable energy and climate goals, among them having 9,000 megawatts of offshore wind by 2035. This will bring significant economic benefits to New York.

Read entire article HERE.

Ny rapport fra Roche: Fremtiden er persontilpasset – men når kommer fremtiden?

Business News, Health,

Persontilpasning har alltid vært et ideal i medisinsk behandling. Å gi hver enkelt pasient den beste behandlingen krever at all relevant informasjon tas i bruk. Ved bruk av moderne teknologi som stordataanalyser og kunstig intelligens blir det mulig å finne sam- menhenger og mønstre som ikke er synlige for mennesker. Teknologien lager hypoteser og trekker konklusjoner, og kan komme med forslag til diagnoser og behandlinger.

Helsedirektoratet har på oppdrag fra Helse- og omsorgsdepartementet utarbeidet en nasjonal strategi for persontilpasset medisin i helsetjenesten (2017-2021) og definerer persontilpasset medisin:

«Med persontilpasset medisin menes forebygging, diagnostikk, behandling og oppfølging tilpasset biologiske forhold hos den enkelte. Målet med å ta i bruk persontilpasset medisin er å gi pasi- entene mer presis og målrettet diagnostikk og behandling, og samtidig unngå behandling som ikke har effekt».

I denne rapporten retter Roche oppmerksom- heten primært mot persontilpasset medisin i kreftbehandlingen. Det kommer stadig flere behandlinger rettet mot bestemte mutasjoner (skader i arvestoffet) i kreftsvul- stene. Det kan gi fantastiske muligheter for pasientene, føre til at stadig flere overlever, lever lenger og får færre bivirkninger og seneffekter.

Les hele rapporten HER.

DN: Norske OSM Aviation kjøper Flight Center US i Florida og tar mål av seg å friste langt flere kvinner til å utdanne seg til piloter

Airline / Travel, Business News

– Hele flyindustrien står foran en dramatisk mangel på piloter. Det er behov for 100 nye piloter hver dag; dobbelt så mange som blir utdannet i dag, sier Espen Høiby i OSM Aviations i forbindelse med at selskapet har kjøpt Flight Center US i Fort Lauderdale i Florida.

Skolen skifter nå navn til OSM Aviation Academy US.

Pilotskolen i Florida skal særlig satse på å øke antall kvinner som tar pilotutdannelse.

– Kun fem prosent av alle operative piloter er kvinner. Jeg ser den enorme kjønnsubalansen som et stort potensial, sier Høiby.

–Hvordan skal dere få flere kvinner til å bli piloter?

–Det er et veldig godt spørsmål. Det er ingen quick-fix, men vi må jo for det første ha en markedsføring rettet mot jentene. Vi må vise at dette er en attraktiv industri. Større fleksibilitet tror jeg også blir viktigere, sier han.

Les hele saken HER.

The Norwegian American: American College of Norway

Business News, Education / Research,

Did you know there is an American college in Norway? Founded in 1989 by Dr. Steinar Opstad, the American College of Norway (ACN) first opened its doors in 1992 to 24 eager and adventurous Norwegian and American students. Flash forward to 2019 and over 2,000 students from Norway, the United States, and beyond have taken courses toward their U.S. bachelor’s degree in Moss, Norway, at the American College of Norway.

“In the [27-year] long partnership, over 2,000 students and more than 80 American faculty have been favorably impacted. This is one of the most successful and enduring educational partnerships in all of Norway,” said Kåre R. Aas, Royal Norwegian Embassy, Ambassador to the United States.

ACN is part of the American university system and offers curriculum taught in English by American faculty. Norwegian students choose ACN to gain one year of an American university education before heading to the United States to complete their U.S. bachelor’s degree at one of ACN’s cooperative partners or other universities throughout the United States. During their year at ACN, Norwegian students work one-on-one with ACN’s knowledgeable and committed staff to help them with course selection, applications, transferring, visa information, and other important matters needed for their transition to the United States.

Read the entire article HERE.

American Wine Club: Bonterra Tasting

AmCham News, ,

American Wine Club: Bonterra Tasting

Visiting organic wine pioneer Bob Blue led the American Wine Club and AmCham members through an exclusive tasting of Bonterra Vineyards diverse range of organic and biodynamic wines. Founded in 1987, Bonterra is a rising star in the American wine industry and was named Wine Enthusiast magazine’s American Winery of the Year in 2016.

Amerikalinjen’s courtyard, Haven, provided a picture-perfect setting for the tasting, with Blue, Bonterra’s founding winemaker, taking attendees through the evolution of organic wine in the United States and Europe, in addition to highlighting the growth of sustainable practices in the American wine industry.

“We started very small, but that actually led to all types of endeavors around sustainability early on. In the years since, it’s just been amazing to see people move with us,” he noted while discussing how Bonterra has established itself as one of the United States’ foremost producers of organic, sustainable, and biodynamic wines.

In the course of the tasting, attendees had the opportunity to sample the following vintages:

  • Bonterra Organic Sauvignon Blanc 2018
  • Bonterra Organic Chardonnay 2018
  • Bonterra Organic Rosé 2018
  • Bonterra Organic Young Red 2018
  • Bonterra Organic Zinfandel 2016
  • Bonterra Elysian Collection Merlot
  • Bonterra The Butler 2013
  • Bonterra The McNab 2013

Bonterra Vineyard's Bob Blue

Bob Blue is a pioneer in the organic wine arena and the founding winemaker for Bonterra, with deep roots in Mendocino’s vineyards. Ironic, given that he grew up in a family of teetotalers in Lake County, California.

In 1988, Bob joined what he now calls “Fetzer University,” where he apprenticed and was mentored by legendary California winemakers Paul Dolan and Dennis Martin. As General Manager of Fetzer’s Hopland Winery, he continued to influence winemaking and was made Red Varietal Winemaker before being named Winemaker for Bonterra.

About the American Wine Club

The American Wine Club is a joint AmCham / member wine importer initiative. Founded in March 2019, the club is a testament to the excitement American vintages are inspiring across Norway. The club’s Facebook group is a digital meeting place for American wine lovers from all over the country, featuring relevant reviews, wine-oriented news articles, and food pairings.

Would you like to be the club’s next member? Sign up HERE today!

Bloomberg: Norwegian Voters Deliver Warning to Country’s Oil Industry

Business News, Energy, , , , , , ,

Norwegian voters have fired a warning shot at the country’s oil industry.

Parties that want to rein in the country’s golden goose made significant gains in Monday’s local elections. That raises the prospect of more advances for those forces that want to limit drilling in the Nordic nation, which supplies 25% of the European Union’s natural gas.

Bolstered by record support in the capital, the Green Party made no secret of who it’s targeting in the next general election, due in 2021.

The oil lobby is “shaking in its boots tonight,” Oslo Deputy Mayor Lan Marie Nguyen Berg said in a speech to party members. “The time when it was OK to make money by destroying our future will soon be over.”

Climate change was among the most discussed topics during the campaign, and the results marked gains for the Greens, the Socialist Left and the Red Party. Those three parties, which all favor restrictions on the oil industry to different extents, sit on the opposition benches in the national parliament.

Equinor: Ten companies selected for Equinor’s Techstars Energy Accelerator 2019

Business News, Energy, , ,

Equinor today announced the second class of global start-up companies selected to participate in the Techstars Energy Accelerator. Three Norwegian companies participate in the programme.

The ten start-up companies have been selected from hundreds of applicants across 42 countries. Through an intensive 13-week programme they will seek to accelerate their solution by tapping into a global network of experts from Equinor and Techstars as well as the partnering companies KONGSBERG and Capgemini. 

Read entire press release HERE.

Bloomberg: North Sea Oil Poised for Last Hurrah With Giant Norway Field

Business News, Energy,

The rise of a huge new Norwegian oil field is poised to give North Sea output one of its biggest boosts in years. The surge won’t last.

 

Johan Sverdrup, one of the five largest offshore oil fields ever discovered in Norway, has been given the green light to begin production, with operator Equinor ASA scheduled to start loading crude onto tankers as soon as next month. The field will single-handedly deliver the biggest increase in oil production for Norway next year since the 1980s. While that’s good news for its owners and Norway, the North Sea will still have to grapple with declines in supply from more mature fields that have been operating since the 1970s.

 

The problem for North Sea producers is that there’s just no other project under development that comes close to Sverdrup in scale. The next biggest field due to start by the end of 2020 is Martin Linge, according to Energy Aspects Ltd. Also part of Equinor’s pipeline, it pales in comparison.

Read entire article HERE.

Sysla: Halliburton med stort underskudd i Norge i fjor

Business News, Energy

Oljeservicegiganten Halliburton hadde et svakt økonomisk år i Norge i 2018.

Til tross for at inntektene økte med 15 prosent til 5,5 milliarder kroner, endte driftsresultatet på minus 517 millioner kroner. På bunnlinjen ble det et underskudd før skatt på 772 millioner. Året før var tilsvarende tall 147 millioner i pluss.

“Gjennom 2018 var markedsforholdene vanskelige for Halliburton. Aktiviteten gikk imidlertid fra veldig lave nivåer i første kvartal og ble gradvis bedre utover året,” skriver Halliburton i årsrapporten for sin norske virksomhet.

Les hele saken HER.

Reuters: Norway’s CO2 seabed storage project gets boost from industry, EU

Business News, Energy, ,

OSLO (Reuters) – Norway’s Equinor signed preliminary agreements on Thursday with seven potential industrial customers for its project to develop carbon dioxide storage under the North Sea, a crucial step toward securing state funding.

The project, called Northern Lights and led by Equinor in partnership with Shell and Total, is part of the country’s efforts to combat climate change.

Proponents of carbon capture and storage (CCS) say countries need the technology to help fulfill pledges made on the heels of the breakthrough Paris climate change agreement in 2015.

Read entire article HERE.