Norwegian oil and gas companies will drill more exploration wells this year as the country seeks to maintain its position as a key supplier to Europe.
Between 40 and 50 wells are expected to be completed, up from 34 last year, the Norwegian Offshore Directorate said Thursday. More than half of the 23 wildcat wells undertaken last year found hydrocarbons, it said.
Read full article here.
From 1814 to the present day, Kongsberg Gruppen has evolved from being a local weapons manufacturer to becoming a global collaborator, producer, and innovator in security and technology. It has simply been an industrial adventure, ant it’s far from over! Join us on a journey back in time and take a look at some of the highlights so far.
Read full article here.
Warm New Year’s Greetings to the AmCham Community!
As we ramp up for what promises to be an exciting year within our sprawling transatlantic business community, a few reflections on our shared road ahead. Though key business indicators are quite mixed across AmCham’s multiple member industry groups, a sense of stoic determination overwhelmingly prevails amongst leaders. Proudly, AmCham member companies are at the forefront of collaboration, renewal and talent development – necessary ingredients in an escalating transitional period ahead.
For AmCham, collaboration with our many internationally oriented members, US and Norwegian government partners, Stortinget, key industry associations, Nordic counterparts – and partner organizations across the United States – is key to providing true insight. All have ideas on what AI, IRA, public cloud, critical minerals, taxes & tariffs, legislative proposals, political maneuvering and geopolitical rivalry mean for their businesses – few alone can accurately assess the related opportunities and threats. AmCham’s far-reaching community can and does.
Jason Turflinger
For our members – and by default for AmCham – renewal is a constant. A quick look at our membership directory is an inspirational testament to long-term bilateral investors that are reshaping their operations and strategies on an ongoing basis. For them, reliance upon past success formulas is not an option. Norway and the US continue to provide competitive operating environments for these companies to thrive, but regulatory stability, transparency and fair market access must prevail.
Our collective talent development efforts help ensure that our members’ accomplished people remain at the center of the transition equation. AmCham’s unique cross-industry Mentorship Program, which includes representatives from 30 companies, is one such longstanding initiative. Similarly, our new Tech Talent Network (TTN) enables rising member talents to expand their leadership skills amongst capable peers and directors.
In the year ahead, AmCham’s meeting and event calendar will include multiple Sustainability, Financial and Defense Forums, our Transatlantic Assembly (Apr), Arendalsuka (Aug), ONS in Stavanger (Aug), our 24th annual Golf Tournament (Aug), an ongoing US Election series and our traditional Thanksgiving Charity (Nov). In other words, there will be ample opportunities for the AmCham community to come together, learn together, and move forward – together!
Equinor and bp today announced an agreement with the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA) to terminate the Offshore Wind Renewable Energy Certificate (OREC) Agreement for the Empire Wind 2 project, an offshore wind project in the US with potential generative capacity of 1,260 MW.
This agreement reflects changed economic circumstances on an industry-wide scale and repositions an already mature project to continue development in anticipation of new offtakeopportunities. The decision recognizes commercial conditions driven by inflation, interest rates and supply chain disruptions that prevented Empire Wind 2’s existing OREC agreement from being viable.
Equinor and bp believe offshore wind can be an important part of the energy mix and are committed to maintaining substantial contributions to the state and local economy.
“bp is supportive of NYSERDA’s leadership and commitment to offshore wind, which we believe is a critical part of New York State’s and America’s clean energy future,” said Joshua Weinstein, bp’s president of offshore wind Americas. “Offshore wind can deliver reliable renewable power as well as economic benefits to the state and its communities.”
The Empire Wind 1 and Empire Wind 2 projects recently reached a key federal permitting milestone, having received the federal Record of Decision from BOEM; last month, Empire Wind 1 also received its Article VII Certificate of Environmental Compatibility and Public Need in New York.
Read full article here.
Stolprodusenten Flokk har signert en avtale om å kjøpe USA-baserte Stylex.
Flokk, som blant annet har fabrikk i Røros, er ledende europeisk produsent av kontorstoler og møbler, og styrker nå sin posisjon i det amerikanske markedet ved å kjøpe USA-baserte Stylex.
– Stylex passer perfekt sammen med 9to5 Seating, vår nåværende USA-baserte merkevare, sier Lars I. Røiri, administrerende direktør i Flokk i en pressemelding.
Stylex vil fortsette å operere selvstendig som en merkevare i Flokk-porteføljen, ledet av administrerende direktør Bruce Golden.
Siden selskapet ble startet av Golden-familien i 1956 har Stylex laget funksjonelle produkter med høyt designnivå.
Read full article here.
A look back at the last 12 months, through data.
2023 was marked by crisis, transition and conflict.
As the war in Ukraine dragged into its second year, the EU was confronted with yet another conflict on its doorstep: The Israel-Hamas war, which brought fresh instability to the Middle East and exacerbated divisions between EU countries.
Europe now heads into a big election year and governments are left grappling with major challenges: The lingering effects of the cost-of-living crisis, the impact of migration and an ever-warming planet.
From the toll of bloody wars to sky-high temperatures, here are the figures behind the topics that defined 2023.
The U.S.’s military commitments to Ukraine dwarf those of other countries. Germany is the next most significant donor, but even the sum of all EU members’ military commitments to Kyiv comes up short of U.S. contributions to the tune of €2 billion.
Read full article here.
NEW YORK & OSLO, Norway & LUXEMBOURG–(BUSINESS WIRE)– FREYR Battery (NYSE: FREY) (“FREYR” or the “Company”), a developer of clean, next-generation battery cell production capacity, announced today that the Company has received the required votes to approve all proposals at its Extraordinary General Meeting (“EGM”) on December 15, 2023. As a result, FREYR expects to complete the previously announced process to redomicile from Luxembourg to the United States by year end 2023.
“On behalf of the Board of Directors and management, the FREYR team expresses its gratitude for the support of its shareholders of record in passing all the proposals at the EGM. With this vote, FREYR will become a U.S. Company by year end 2023, which will pave the way for us to realize the previously announced benefits to shareholders,” commented Tom Einar Jensen, FREYR’s Executive Chairperson. “With Giga America under initial development in Coweta County, Georgia, we are now positioned to establish FREYR as the first U.S. based scaling partner of choice for battery technology solutions.”
Read full article here.
For 23 år siden organiserte Kjell Terje Ringdal den aller første utgaven av Washington-seminaret.
Siden den gang har over 600 deltakere fra norsk næringsliv, organisasjonsliv og media deltatt på det årlige seminaret for å lære av og utfordre sentrale stemmer og personer i amerikansk politikk, media og næringsliv.
– Det er selvsagt vemodig, men det føles riktig å gi stafettpinnen videre til noen jeg vet vil forvalte dette på en fremragende måte. Hill & Knowlton har et sterkt nettverk og kontakter i USA som vil komme deltakerne til gode, sier Ringdal i en pressemelding.
Siden 2008 har Ringdal gjennomført seminaret i tett samarbeid med Hill & Knowlton. Nå kjøper Hill & Knowlton Washington-seminaret, og vil videreutvikle det i tett samarbeid med sine byråkolleger i Washington.
Peter Gitmark, leder for samfunnskontakt i Hill & Knowlton, tar nå over ledelsen.
– Vi gleder oss til å videreutvikle institusjonen som dette seminaret har blitt for samfunns-, organisasjons- og næringslivet i Norge, forteller Gitmark.
Sammen med sine kolleger med bakgrunn fra politikk, journalistikk og Washington, ser han frem til å videreutvikle seminaret et viktig år i amerikansk politikk.
Seminaret er lagt midt under presidentvalget i USA, fra 1.-7.november.
Gitmark sier at årets program vil ta deltakerne med på innsiden av det amerikanske valget.
Read full article here.
Norse Atlantic Airways has been approved by the US Transportation Security Administration to participate in the TSA PreCheck programme, the carrier announced this week.
The move will allow US-based travellers with a TSA PreCheck membership to experience ‘expedited security screening’ prior to boarding a flight with the Norwegian low-cost carrier.
“Joining TSA PreCheck marks an important step for Norse Atlantic Airways and our customers,” said Norse Atlantic Airways CEO Bjorn Tore Larsen.
“We are now able to offer a more pleasant and efficient airport experience in the US to customers who are already enrolled members of TSA PreCheck.”
The nascent carrier currently serves six US destinations with a fleet of 15 Boeing 787 Dreamliners, including newly-launched routes from both Paris and Berlin to Miami.
Read article here.
Norway’s minority center-left government and two large opposition parties made a deal Tuesday to open the Arctic Ocean to seabed mineral exploration despite warnings by environmental groups that it would threaten the biodiversity of the vulnerable ecosystems in the area.
Norway said in June it wanted to open parts of the Norwegian continental shelf for commercial deep sea mining in line with the country’s strategy to seek new economic opportunities and reduce its reliance on oil and gas.
The head of Greenpeace Norway, Frode Pleym, said the decision was “a disaster for the sea” and the mining would take place in “our last wilderness.”
“We do not know what consequences this will have for the ecosystems in the sea, for endangered species such as whales and seabirds, or for the fish stocks on which we base our livelihood,” he said.
Read full article here.