All posts by admin

Næringsforeningen: Ren energi lokker gigantene

Business News, Energy, Technology, , , ,

IT-gigantene er på vei inn i regionen. Jakten på ren energi er drivkraften. Det kan på sikt få svært positive følger både for næringsetablering og omstilling i regionen.

Det handler i bunn og grunn om behov for strøm, og i høy grad fornybar energi. 

I løpet av året skal Microsoft sitt nye dataanlegg være i drift i Stavanger-regionen, et anlegg som skal serve både et lokalt og internasjonalt marked. 

Ingen vet hvor anlegget skal ligge og eksakt når det vil være i drift, bare at Stavanger-regionen er et av to steder i landet hvor Microsoft har ønsket å etablere et senter. Kanskje blir det på Green Mountains anlegg på Rennesøy, kanskje et annet sted. Plasseringen er fortsatt en hemmelighet.

– Stavanger-regionen og Norge er valgt på grunn av både beliggenheten, infrastruktur, god fibertilknytning og fordi regionen sentralt koblet til i forhold til traseer i verden. Disse dataregionene skal ikke bare serve det norske markedet, men må også sees som et ledd i det globale nettverket. Det vi nå bygger i Norge gjør også at globale selskaper kan flytte data inn i Norge for å nå sine kunder i landet, sa direktør for Azure+Al i Microsoft Norge, Christopher Frenning, på et møte i regi av Næringsforeningen for kort tid siden.

Les hele saken HER.

World Oil: NPD reports production figures for January 2019

Business News, Energy, , ,
null

Chart: Norwegian Petroleum Directorate.

STAVANGER — Preliminary production figures for January 2019 show an average daily production of 1,8 MMbbl of oil, NGL and condensate, which is a decrease of 30 Mbp day compared to December 2018.

Total gas sales were 11.2 billion Sm3 (GSm3), which is an increase of 0.5 GSm3 from the previous month.

Average daily liquids production in January was: 1.4 MMbbl of oil, 333 Mbbl of NGL and 28 Mbbl of condensate.

Oil production is approx. 0.5% lower than the NPD’s forecast.

Read the entire article HERE.

Reuters: Norway Gives Go-Ahead to Disputed Arctic Copper Mine

Business News, Chemicals / Metals, Government, , ,

OSLO — Norway’s government approved on Thursday the building of a copper mine near Europe’s northernmost point despite years of opposition from indigenous Sami herders and fishermen.

Norway’s decision on the copper mine has been viewed as a litmus test for the Arctic, where climate change and technology are enabling mineral and energy extraction, shipping and tourism, but threatening traditional ways of life.

Read entire article HERE.

World Oil: Wood awarded EPCI contract by Equinor in Norway

Business News, Energy, , ,

HOUSTON – Wood has secured a new $13 million contract with Equinor to deliver engineering, procurement, construction, and installation (EPCI) services to the Vigdis boosting station increased oil recovery (IOR) project.

Effective immediately, Wood will provide topside modifications to enable the tie-in of subsea equipment to offshore platforms Snorre A and Snorre B, which process oil from the Vigdis subsea field, located in the Norwegian North Sea.

Read entire article HERE.

Bloomberg: Richest Scandinavians Are in a Row Over How to Get $2.2 Billion

Business News, Government, , ,

The richest Scandinavians are having a budget dispute involving Norway’s worst terrorist and a capsized warship.

The row started after Norwegian Prime Minister Erna Solberg proposed an “under the line” budget item to cover the estimated 19 billion kroner ($2.2 billion) it will cost to replace a navy frigate that collided with a tanker and ran aground last year and to resurrect the government offices destroyed in Anders Behring Breivik’s 2011 terror attack.

Read entire article HERE.

Bloomberg: A High-Stakes Fight Is Brewing in Norway Over EU Relations

Business News, Government, , , , , , ,

By Sveinung Sleire

Kicking off the year in a T-shirt proclaiming that she “loves, loves the EEA,” Foreign Minister Ine Eriksen Soreide hinted at the high-stakes fight that’s brewing in Norway over its relationship with the European Union.

Soreide’s show of passion comes 25 years after Norway linked itself to the EU in a free-trade deal as part of the European Economic Area, a compromise solution after voters in a referendum rejected joining the bloc.

But the deal that gives Norway unfettered access to Europe’s massive free-trade bloc is increasingly being derided and has come under legal attack from EU skeptics and labor unions who are questioning its impact on wages, labor laws and sovereignty. As of yet, it’s a faint echo of the Brexit process that’s currently tearing at the fabric of the U.K.

“It’s very important that we — supporters of the EEA agreement — are out there defending it, and tell how enormously important it’s to safeguard Norwegian interests,” Soreide said in an interview in Oslo.

Read entire article HERE.

Reuters: Five companies, including Equinor, bid to supply New York with offshore wind power

Business News, Energy, , , ,

Five companies, including Norway’s Equinor, Denmark’s Orsted and France’s EDF have submitted bids to supply offshore wind power to the New York state, the companies said on Thursday.

New York state closed bidding on.ny.gov/2E54m5q on Thursday to provide 800-megawatts of offshore wind energy, a part of a plan develop up to 2,400 megawatts (MW) of offshore wind power by 2030, and will choose a supplier in the spring.

Equinor is planning to build a wind park on 80,000 acres south of Long Island it won in a U.S. federal auction in 2016, with potential total capacity of up to 2,000 MW, in push to diversify its investments away from oil and gas.

Read entire article HERE.

Forum Summary: AmCham CFO Forum – February 2019

Accounting / Financial, AmCham News, , , ,

The second edition of AmCham’s CFO Forum brought international, cross-industry financial leaders together at IBM’s Oslo Client Center to discuss the concept of “The CFO of the Future.”

With participants from Discovery Networks Norway, Fast Solutions, Gelato, IBM, KPMG, Stanley Security, Pfizer, Arntzen de Besche Advokatfirma, BI Norwegian Business School, Microsoft and Roche in attendance, IBM Global Business Services’ Karina Bjørnarøy kicked off the forum by introducing the concept of Enterprise Design Thinking.

Using this comprehensive framework geared to solve users’ problems “at the speed and scale of the modern digital enterprise,” attendees completed a series of workshop exercises to design the CFO of the future by modelling the CFO of today – reflecting on their own career experiences and bonding over common challenges in the process.

A central takeaway was the human element of the CFO profession. As one attendee noted, “Reports don’t create results, it’s what people do with them.” From driving employee engagement, to developing accountability structures, to understanding how to better cast the CFO as a strategic partner, participants were immersed in discussion as they came up with “bold ideas” to improve the day-to-day work life of their imagined CFO.

The forum was highly engaging, and participants welcomed the opportunity to connect with their peers over what it means to be a CFO in today’s rapidly changing business environment – a topic we will delve further into during our Q2 meeting.

AmCham would like to thank the entire team at IBM Norway for hosting and facilitating this instalment of our CFO Forum.

About the CFO Forum

The AmCham CFO Forum is a platform that gives financial leaders the opportunity to interact, share best practices, and learn from each other – building a better understanding of what it takes to run a successful international finance department in Norway in the process. Our next CFO Forum is in the works for Q2. For interest in participating, please contact us.

World Oil: Equinor increases 2018 earnings, eyes offshore U.S.

Business News, Energy, ,

STAVANGER — “Strong operational performance and high production gave solid results and cash flow in a quarter with significant market volatility. We delivered growing returns for the full year and expect continued earnings growth. Following strong improvements in recent years, the board proposes an increase in quarterly dividend of 13% to $0.26 per share,” says Eldar Sætre, president and CEO of Equinor ASA.

“Our cash flow generation was strong across the business. At an average oil price of $71/bbl, we generated an organic free cash flow well above $6 billion for the full year. We have also done several value-enhancing transactions, strengthened our financial position and reduced our net debt ratio from 29% to 22.2%,” says Sætre.

Adjusted earnings were $4.4 billion in the fourth quarter, up from $4 billion in the same period in 2017. Adjusted earnings after tax were $1.5 billion, up from $1.3 billion in the same period last year. High production at higher prices contributed to the increase. Due to sales pricing mechanisms in the market, the significant fall in oil prices led to a negative one-off effect with a higher than normal differential between realised liquids prices and Brent Blend average. In addition, higher exploration activity and lower refinery and products trading margins impacted adjusted earnings negatively. For the full year, adjusted earnings were $18 billion, up 42% from $12.6 billion in 2017.

Read entire article HERE.

Bloomberg: Musk Holds Talks in Norway on Bigger Fix to Tesla’s Service Woes

Automobile / Transport, Business News, , ,

Tesla Inc.’s Chief Executive Officer Elon Musk visited Norway to accelerate a fix to service capacity in a key market for the carmaker after delays and bottlenecks angered customers in Scandinavia’s richest nation.

Musk’s stay in Norway was part of a broader trip through Europe that the CEO advertised on Twitter on Saturday as the company is deploying its new Model 3 on the continent after a tumultuous year in 2018.

Read entire article HERE.