All posts by Jason Turflinger

ONS: Cybersecurity Experts Say O&G Industry Not Doing Enough

Energy, Technology

STAVANGER — While the global oil and gas industry seems to have plenty of innovation and new thinking to show off at ONS this year, there is a group of folks that thinks it is coming up short in one specific area and that would be fighting cybersecurity threats adequately.

In a morning conference session at ONS on Wednesday, a star-studded panel of experts assessed the threat posed to the industry by cyber attacks and what executives still need to do, beyond measures already in place, to address the problem thoroughly. Former Secretary of Homeland Security Michael Chertoff, who served under Former President George W. Bush from 2005 to 2009, led off the session. He set the table for the other speakers, when he said that “the costly and dynamic nature of cybersecurity threats makes them a top risk for many businesses,” particularly board directors and management. However, he says they often struggle with understanding and responding to the scope of these rapidly changing risks.

Chertoff pointed out that for most boards, cybersecurity is far from a core competency. They are not well-schooled in security measures and this lack of “fluency” can cause indecision or avoidance related to cybersecurity. Too often, executives may resign themselves to a mentality that attacks are unavoidable.

Norway’s $1 Trillion Wealth Fund Wants More Time to Shift Stocks

Financial / Investment, Government

Norway’s $1 trillion wealth fund recommended it be given more time to adjust its stock portfolio should it stray away from its 70% target.

The recommendation is part of a review of the rebalancing rules after the government boosted the amount of shares it can hold from just above 60 percent. The fund also recommended tightening the band at which it can deviate from its target to 2 percentage points from 4 percentage points.

“Transaction costs and deviation from the strategic target can be reduced with the combination of a narrower no-trade band and more gradual adjustment back to the strategic target than at present,” Norges Bank Governor Oystein Olsen and Norges Bank Investment Management Chief Executive Officer Yngve Slyngstad said in a letter to the Finance Ministry.

ONS: Updates on the New E&P Landscape of the NCS

Energy

STAVANGER — Since ONS in 2016, the landscape of E&P companies on the Norwegian Continental Shelf (NCS) has changed significantly. New players have entered the arena, companies have merged and several of the larger majors have changed their organizations, altered their business models or even changed their names and branded outfit, such as Equinor.

At ONS 2018 you will get updated on the new E&P landscape on the NCS.

Several new players have merged–and emerged.

Point Resources is the result of several mergers. With the upcoming, and yet-to-be-formalized, merger with Eni Norway, Point Resources will be part of a new company, Vår Energi, by the end of the year.

BP’s exposure on the NCS is now through AkerBP, while French Total bought Danish Mærsk Oil. The combinations of Centrica and Bayerngas, and Wintershall and DEA represent more classical mergers.

Okea grows into a new major operator in the North Sea after taking over Draugen field from Shell. And the funds Carlyle and CVC Capital Partners have supported British Neptune Energy’s acquisition of Engie and VNG and their ambition to grow in the North Sea.

The oil and gas players on the shelf are more diversified financially as well as geographically. The new players are entering the shelf, with a clear objective to invest, grow and innovate NCS. A healthy diversity on the shelf is being maintained. ONS is proud to have 28 E&P companies as exhibitors both traditional larger companies and new players that demonstrate a willingness to invest, creating value and by adding to the innovative ecosystem on NCS.

Vi i legemiddelindustrien må fortelle folk hva vi gjør

Healthcare

Representanter fra legemiddelindustrien og politikken diskuterte omdømmeproblematikk og legemiddelpriser på Arendalsuka 2018.

ARENDAL: American Chamber of Commerce in Norway (AmCham Norway) arbeider for å bygge og opprettholde norske og amerikanske forretningsforbindelser. På Arendalsuka 2018 arrangerte de møtet «The Pharmaceutical Industry revealed: who, what, why and when?».

Et av hovedtemaene som ble brakt på banen var legemiddelindustriens omdømmeproblematikk, og møteleder Jason Turflinger, som er daglig leder i AmCham Norway, inviterte til en åpen samtale om temaet. Han viste innledningsvis til tall fra en Norstat-undersøkelse som viser at bare 52 prosent av de spurte visste noe som helst om den norske legemiddelindustrien.

— Det er et svært lavt tall, og det viser at vi har en jobb å gjøre. Vi må fortelle folk hva vi driver med. Hvis ikke vil det oppstå spekulasjoner. Samtidig er det restriktivt hva vi kan kommunisere, og da er det desto viktigere at vi samtidig kommuniserer godt med folkets representanter, altså politikerne, sa Hilde Bech, som er landssjef for Bristol-Myers Squibb (BMS) Norge.

Med seg i panelet hadde hun industrikollega Dr. Ans Heirman fra Belgia, som er administrerende direktør for MSD Norge. Hun måtte si seg enig med Bechs refleksjoner.

— Vi har ingen god historie med kommunikasjon til folket, det er gjerne kun hos leger og helsepersonell fokuset har ligget. Men dagens pasienter vil vite mer, og da blir det viktigere å kommunisere godt til disse, sa Heirman, som også mente det er synd at flere gode historier fra legemiddelindustrien ikke når folk.

— Det skrives både gode og dårlige historier om industrien, men dessverre vinner de dårlige historiene ofte frem. Vi i industrien må jobbe for å få de gode historiene mer frem.

Lilly Ann Elvestad, generalsekretær i Funksjonshemmedes Fellesorganisasjon (FFO), deltok også i panelet. Hun kunne fortelle at FFO har hatt et godt samarbeid med industrien i mange år.

— Vi jobber med mange av de ulike pasientorganisasjonene, og mange av disse har godt samarbeid med de ulike legemiddelselskapene. Når det gjelder FFO, har vi noe samarbeid med Legemiddelindustrien (LMI) og årlige møter med AbbVie, fortalte hun.

Møteleder Turflinger stilte panelet flere spørsmål under debatten, og lurte blant annet på hva deltakernes holdning til å tjene penger på legemidler var. Alle fra både industri, organisasjoner og politikk mente unisont at det måtte være greit.

— Det har lenge virket som om vi har et problem her i Norge med at folk tjener penger. Men uten profitt har man ingen bedrift. Det må også være mulig å tjene penger på helsetjenester, sa stortingsrepresentant og farmasøyt Sveinung Stensland (H).

Energy Minister: Losing Lofoten Would Imperil Norway’s Arctic Push

Energy, Government

Backing down on drilling off Norway’s Lofoten islands could also threaten the search for 16 billion barrels of oil and gas that lies beneath the Barents Sea, the country’s energy minister said.

The warning comes amid increasing signs that Labor, the nation’s biggest party and a long-time friend to the oil industry, is starting to give in to a push to shield the sensitive islands from exploration. Oil companies such as Equinor ASA have said access to the area, thought to hold about 1.3 billion barrels of oil and gas, is vital to prolonging Norway’s oil age.

“If the environmentalists win this one, the focus will quickly move to the Barents Sea,” Petroleum and Energy Minister Terje Soviknes, who represents the Progress Party in the Conservative-led government, said in an interview Friday.

Drilling off Lofoten has been one of the most deadlocked issues for years as political bargaining maintained a ban on exploration. Should Labor flip on the issue, there will be a solid majority in parliament for closing off Lofoten permanently.

Compromising with smaller parties, successive governments have kept the area off limits while expanding exploration in the Barents Sea. Success in the under-explored Barents is seen as key to limiting a forecast drop in production from the middle of the next decade.

Some of Norway’s Largest Companies Joining Forces to Establish National AI Lab

Technology

Some of Norway’s largest companies are joining forces in establishing a national powerhouse for artificial intelligence. Its aim is to improve the quality and capacity for research, education and innovation in the field.

Norway has a huge potential to be a pioneer in Artificial Intelligence (AI), but it needs resources and collaboration in order not to lag behind. To strengthen national efforts on artificial intelligence, Telenor, NTNU and SINTEF are inviting Norwegian businesses to partner on the new Norwegian Open AI Lab. Additional partners will include DNB, DNV GL, Equinor, and the Kongsberg Group.

While the Norwegian Open AI Lab will develop solutions specific to the partners’ industries, it will also consider opportunities where Norway can take positions internationally. Norway benefits from a competitive advantage thanks to its advanced ICT infrastructure, purchasing power, competence and a population with above-average technological literacy. Having a strong position on artificial intelligence is central to ensuring that Norway is able and prepared to compete in the global market. A strengthened AI lab like this ensures that Norway can continue the tradition of collaboration between business and academia in the country. 

Norway to Tamp Down on Oil Spending After Wealth Fund Deposits

Financial / Investment, Government

Norwegian Prime Minister Erna Solberg is ready to start reining in oil spending after the government began putting money back into the sovereign wealth fund again.

The Norwegian government in June made its first deposit into its wealth fund since the end of 2015. Now that the economy is in full recovery and the labor market is tightening, winding down fiscal stimulus is a key priority in next year’s budget, the prime minister said in an interview in Arendal, on Norway’s southern coast.

“It’s the tangible things in the economy that matter,” Solberg said. “We ensured that people were employed, and we made sure that the challenges were minimized for people in Norway — now it is important that we’re able to show that we have also managed to scale down the use of oil money.”

Swedish Economy Set to Slow in 2019 as Norway Takes Lead

Financial / Investment

Sweden’s economic prospects have dimmed in recent months and the country will likely be surpassed by Norway as the fastest-growing Scandinavian economy in 2019, a Reuters poll found on Tuesday.

It would be the first time in more than half a decade Sweden failed to top the region’s growth league, although it was still set to expand at a slightly faster pace than Denmark, the final member of the northern European trio.

“Norway and Sweden are in many ways in different stages of the cycle,” Nordea Markets economist Erik Bruce said.

“Norway is on its way up after a weak period, while Sweden is facing the opposite development. Following a period of strong growth, Sweden is looking weaker as its main export markets are losing steam,” he added.

Norway Keeps Rates Unchanged on Path to Tightening Next Month

Financial / Investment

Norway’s central bank kept its key interest rates unchanged, setting policy makers up for the first tightening in seven years next month.

The bank on Thursday held its benchmark at a record low of 0.5 percent, as anticipated by all analysts surveyed by Bloomberg.

“The outlook and the balance of risks do not appear to have changed substantially since the June report,” Norges Bank Governor Oystein Olsen said in a statement.

Policy makers in Oslo are preparing for the first rate increase since 2011, moving along with a global unwinding of the stimulus unleashed in the wake of the financial crisis. A record bout of monetary and fiscal stimulus has put the economy back on its feet after western Europe’s largest crude exporter endured the worst oil industry slump in a generation.

Increased Allied Training and Exercises

Defense / Security, Government

“I am pleased to announce that U.S. and Norwegian authorities recently agreed to extend and increase the rotational training and exercises in Norway for units from the USMC. As a result, the arrangement will continue beyond 2018 and may include up to 700 U.S. marines. In addition to today’s activity at Vaernes, a second location at Setermoen will be added,” says Minister of Defense Frank Bakke-Jensen

This is an important part of the implementation of the Government’s policy on increased allied training and exercises in Norway, as well as being consistent with the U.S.-Norway bilateral agreement on prepositioning and reinforcement of Norway approved by Parliament in 2006.

The continuation and increase of this rotational activity will be positive for the Norwegian Armed Forces, and provides an excellent point of departure for the future development of allied training and exercise activity in Norway in a broader perspective. This will provide the Armed Forces with flexibility and possibilities for adaptations in the years ahead.

The Norwegian Armed Forces will be tasked with coordinating and implementing the activity, as normal for allied training and exercises in Norway, and we may see additional U.S. marines at Setermoen already during the fall of this year.