British and Norwegian agreement to nurture North Sea’s growing energy industry
Last updated 8/31/2010 12:50:43 PM
British and Norwegian agreement to nurture North Sea’s growing energy industry
British and Norwegian governments have signed a pact develop the North Sea as one of the world's leading energy hubs bringing new investment and green job opportunities, and strengthening energy security in the region.
The governments drew-up a list of priorities in agreement to work together in encouraging renewable energy, carbon capture and storage (CCS), oil and gas.
Charles Hendrey, the British energy minister and Norway's petroleum and energy minster Terje Riis-Johansen signed the pact in a ministerial statement at the 2010 ONS energy conference in Stavanger, Norway.
Under the pact, offshore wind energy farm developers operating in the North Sea would be encouraged to share information in order to bring down costs across the industry.
The statement also indicated that the two countries will join forces at upcoming international negotiations on CCS technologies, as they attempt to accelerate the development of projects around the North Sea that will aim to store captured carbon under the sea bed.
While committing to rolling out clean technologies, the ministers both stressed that they would continue to work together to support the North Sea oil and gas industry.
The statement acknowledged the "need to apply new technology for the further development of North Sea petroleum resources in the most efficient, safe and environmentally responsible manner".
The statement added that the two countries will share information to promote enhanced oil recovery techniques and improve safety procedures, particularly following the BP oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico.
The ministers agreed to work together to encourage developing countries to roll out renewable energy technologies such as offshore wind farms.
The pact would also offer support to projects being undertaken by National Grid and Norwegian grid operator Statnett to assess the feasibility of an interconnector between the two countries.