All posts by Margrethe Harboe

Denmark, Norway, and the United States to Lead Zero-Emission Shipping Mission

Business News, Shipping & Offshore

The governments of Denmark, Norway, and the United States, along with the Global Maritime Forum and the Mærsk Mc-Kinney Møller Center for Zero Carbon Shipping, today announced that they will lead a new Zero-Emission Shipping Mission as part of Mission Innovation. The Mission aims to accelerate international public-private collaboration to scale and deploy new green maritime solutions, setting international shipping on an ambitious zero-emission course. The Mission will also be supported by the governments of India, Morocco, the U.K., Singapore, France, Ghana, and South Korea.

“Through fearless technological innovation, ambitious clean energy deployment, and constructive international collaboration, we can build a net-zero carbon economy that creates millions of jobs and lifts our citizens into greater prosperity,” said Jennifer Granholm, U.S. Secretary of Energy.

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Avtalen mellom Norge og USA bryter ikke Grunnloven

Business News, Defense / Security, Government

Flere har vært bekymret for om SDCA-avtalen med USA bryter Grunnloven. Det trenger de ikke å være.

SDCA er viktig for Norge, for norsk sikkerhet og for norske interesser. USA er vår viktigste allierte, og avtalen inneholder et bredt spekter av regler som legger bedre til rette for den praktiske gjennomføringen av amerikansk militær aktivitet i Norge.

At amerikanske styrker ikke er underlagt norsk kommandomyndighet bryter ikke med Grunnloven. Det er ingen allierte styrker i Norge, enten det er britiske, nederlandske eller amerikanske, som er underlagt norsk kommandomyndighet. Selv om allierte styrker ikke er underlagt norsk kommandomyndighet er det Norge som suveren stat som har kontroll med og myndighet til å beslutte amerikansk og annen alliert militær aktivitet inn og ut fra norsk territorium i fredstid. Vi følger egne nasjonale retningslinjer for utenlandsk militær aktivitet ut fra norsk territorium, som blant annet begrenser hvilke typer flyvinger og seilinger som kan gjøres av allierte ut fra Norge. Selv i en krisesituasjon er det norske myndigheter som regulerer denne typen aktivitet med utgangspunkt i norsk jord. Når det gjelder internasjonalt farvann og luftrom, er det naturligvis internasjonale regler som gjelder.

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Ford’s Electric Mustang Tops Norway Car Sales in May

Automobile / Transport, Business News, Energy

OSLO (Reuters) -Ford Motor Co’s electric Mustang Mach-E topped Norway’s car sales in May, the first full month of registrations for the crossover vehicle in the small but influential Nordic market, national data showed on Tuesday.

Battery electric vehicles made up 60.4% of all new cars sold in Norway last month, the Norwegian Road Federation (OFV) said, up from 43.1% a year ago as the country seeks to become the first to end the sale of petrol and diesel engines by 2025.

By exempting fully electric vehicles from taxes imposed on internal combustion engines, Norway has turned its car market into a testing ground for automakers seeking a path to a future without fossil fuels.

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Racing for Hydrogen: How Gas Giants Are Vying to Stay Relevant

Business News, Energy

(Bloomberg) — The global gas industry is in an existential race: either find a way to be part of the next generation of energy or risk getting supplanted by alternatives. BP Plc, Sinopec, Equinor ASA and Royal Dutch Shell Plc are among the producers looking to hydrogen to help secure demand that otherwise may falter as decarbonization speeds up. They want to utilize existing pipelines, storage tankers and fuel supply to make blue hydrogen, a process that uses natural gas but captures the carbon emissions and stores them. The straightest route to net-zero emissions uses hydrogen produced by renewable electricity — known in the industry as green hydrogen — but the blue variety is expected to be cheaper until at least 2030 as wind and solar power ramp up.

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Equinor and Exxon to develop $8 bln Brazilian oilfield

Business News, Energy

Equinor (EQNR.OL), ExxonMobil (XOM.N) and Petrogal Brasil said on Tuesday they would proceed with an $8 billion development of Brazil’s Bacalhau oil discovery.

First oil from the field, which will be operated by Norway’s Equinor, is expected in 2024, with output set to reach 220,000 barrels per day, the companies said in a joint statement.

“Estimated recoverable reserves for the first phase are more than one billion barrels of oil,” said Equinor Executive Vice President Arne Sigve Nylund.

The field has a break even cost of below $35 per barrel, Equinor said, around half the current market price of crude oil.

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Norway Advises Its Citizens to Refrain From Travelling Abroad at Least Until July 1

Airline / Travel, Business News, Government

Norway’s government has decided to re-extended its travel advice against international travel for its citizens, until July 1, after evaluating that many countries worldwide continue to be highly affected by the spread of the Coronavirus.

Even though the government’s gradual reopening plan is underway, the country’s health authorities recommend avoiding international travel until a larger share of the population is vaccinated against COVID-19, a statement published by the Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs has stressed, SchengenVisaInfo.com reports.

“We do not want to have the travel council longer than necessary, but as the situation is now, it is most predictable to plan a Norwegian holiday this summer,” Foreign Minister Ine Eriksen Søreide has said.

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Oil Firms in Norway Raise Spending Forecasts

Business News, Energy

Oil and gas firms in Norway have increased their 2021 and 2022 investment forecasts during the last three months as more projects are being developed, a national statistics office (SSB) survey showed on Wednesday.

The biggest business sector in Norway now expects to invest 181.9 billion Norwegian crowns ($21.95 billion) this year, up from a forecast of 173.6 billion made in February, the SSB said.

“The upward adjustment for 2021 is driven by higher estimates within the categories of fields on stream and field development,” SSB said in a statement.

“Among other things, two new plans for development and operation (PDO) have been submitted,” it added.

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Norway Tops The Digital Nomad Visa Charts. Several Other European Nationals Highly Rated

Airline / Travel, Business News, Government

While the whole world went into remote working through the Covid-19 pandemic, several countries around the world announced new “digital nomad visas” to cater for the lost tourism revenue. Instead of having short term visitors come for a week, why not entice them to come enjoy the country for a few months or more?

This proved to be a shrewd move as several multinational companies announced plans to make teleworking a permanent policy for their staff. After all, if you really needed to quarantine for 2 weeks on arrival, you’d certainly want to stay much longer than that to make the trip worthwhile.

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Rebuilding Brand America & the Power of Corporate Diplomacy

AmCham News

Rebuilding Brand America & the Power of Corporate Diplomacy

On May 20, AmCham Norway in partnership with fellow Nordic AmChams hosted a timely session for members and stakeholders on what it will take to restore trust in America’s brand abroad.

During the session, Allyson Stewart-Allen, an international business advisor and the Founder & CEO of International Marketing Partners, addressed what builds and erodes trust in a country’s brand, and how US company executives can function as Corporate Diplomats or “Brand Ambassadors” for the country.  Stewart-Allen then suggested ways to best integrate US corporate brands within Nordic business cultures. 

Full Session

Please view the full session, which includes how to measure equity in a country brand here.

Presentation

Download Allyson Stewart-Allen’s presentation here.

Allyson Stewart-Allen – Founder & CEO, International Marketing Partners

A Proclamation on World Trade Week, 2021

Business News, Government, Trade

When the COVID-19 pandemic struck, it not only inflicted an enormous toll on American lives and livelihoods — it brought unprecedented disruption to the global economy as well.  That disruption represents a major threat to workers and employers in every community who rely on trade to grow jobs here at home, from small businesses that sell their goods to customers overseas, to major United States industries that depend on imported components in the products they make in America.  As we work to defeat the pandemic and build back better, World Trade Week reminds us of the important role that global trade plays in creating jobs and strengthening the United States economy — and of our responsibility to pursue trade policies that center on American workers.

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