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USD 1 = NOK 6.90 No. 02 - 19 January 1993
CONTENTS:
Barents Cooperation established (1-2)
Five billion dollar gas deal (3)
Substantial defence cuts (4)
"Green" ships research (5)
Bid invited for 14th concession round (6)
Concerted action against militant anti-whalers (7)
Salmon exports to continue (8)
Debut for Edvard Munch as a songwriter (9)
Low inflation rate (10)
Household savings greater than expected (10)
norinform/1-2 19 January 1993
BARENTS COOPERATION ESTABLISHED
The Nordic countries and Russia have signed an agreement on
cooperation in the Barents Region. The historic event took place when
the foreign ministers of Norway, Sweden, Finland and Russia met
recently in Kirkenes, a Norwegian town close to the Russian border.
Co-signatories to the agreement were Denmark, Iceland and a
representative of the European Community.
The initiator and primus motor for the agreement was Thorvald
Stoltenberg, Norway's Minister of Foreign Affairs, who said that
environmental protection will be the prime area of cooperation.
Subsequent fields could be economic exchange and scientific
cooperation. He also drew attention to the possibilities for improved
communications, such as ferry connections and a new seaway to the
East, passing north of Russia. Stoltenberg spoke of the rights of the
indigenous peoples, an issue to which he attached great importance. He
stressed that the Barents cooperation is in no way a closed circle,
accessible only to a defined group of countries and counties. All who
wish to do so can co-sign the declaration and participate in
cooperation, he said.
At the request of the Russian foreign minister, Andrej Kozyrev, Norway
agreed to act as chairman for the agreement in its initial year. After
this, the chairmanship will rotate between Norway, Sweden, Finland and
Russia. Norway will take on the secretariat function until a decision
is reached on whether to establish a permanent secretariat.
JOINT NATURE RESERVE
At the Kirkenes meeting Stoltenberg announced that Norway and Russia
are to establish a joint nature reserve on both sides of their common
frontier. This will be linked to a corresponding area in Finland,and
environmental protection measures will be harmonized with the ones
applying in the Finnish sector. Part of the protected area will be a
new Russian-Norwegian national park. Ministers of Environment from the
Nordic countries will meet in the spring to discuss this issue and to
start work on a plan to bring environmental problems in the Barents
Region under control.
WARNING OF NUCLEAR ACCIDENTS
Stoltenberg and Kozyrev signed an agreement on mutual warning in event
of nuclear accidents. This will cover all types of accidents that lead
or could lead to radioactive discharges. Unusually high radiation
levels must also be reported, regardless of the source of the
discharge. In addition, the signatories pledged to supply information
on nuclear-powered icebreakers, an expansion of a former agreement.
DELIMITATION LINE IN THE BARENTS SEA
During Kozyrev's 3-day visit to Norway, talks were conducted on the
delimitation line in the so-called grey zone in the Barents Sea. We
will find a solution to this problem, said Kozyrev at a subsequent
press conference. He pointed out that only 16 per cent of this area is
still under discussion. (norinform)
norinform/3 19 January 1993
FIVE BILLION DOLLAR GAS DEAL
The Belgian firm Distrigaz has recently contracted to purchase
Norwegian gas worth around USD 5 billion, after signing a deal with
the Norwegian Gas Negotiation Committee (GFU) which consists of state
oil company Statoil, Norsk Hydro and Saga Petroleum. Norway is to
deliver 1.9 billion cubic metres of gas annually over a 21 year
period.
The gas is to be used in two newly constructed gas-fired power plants
operated by Electracabel, a company which supplies 95 per cent of
Belgium's electrical power. It will be piped through the Zeepipe line,
scheduled to come into operation in 1993.
This is the third GFU contract covering supplies for electrical power
production. In 1988 the Committee signed a contract with the Dutch
power producer SEP for the delivery of two billion cubic metres of gas
per year. In 1991 it closed a deal with National Power, Britain's
biggest power producer, which contracted to buy 2.2 billion cubic
metres of gas a year.
No decision has yet been made as to which field will supply the gas.
Statoil would like the first deliveries to come from the Troll field,
with subsequent supplies coming from Sleipner. Other oil companies
wish to tap the Sleipner field for all the gas to be delivered. The
final decision will be made shortly in the Ministry of Petroleum and
Energy. (norinform)
norinform/4 19 January 1993
SUBSTANTIAL DEFENCE CUTS
From 1994-1998, 3,200 jobs will be eliminated in the Norwegian
defence, while the overall reduction in the coming decade will be
6,400 jobs. These figures were released in a recent government report
on the general lines for defence activities from 1994-1998.
By around the year 2000 the number of brigades will be reduced to six
and sweeping organizational changes are planned. This means that the
size of the force which can be mobilized at short notice will be
reduced from 150,000 to 75,000. There will be reductions in the the
number of military exercises as well as in the budgets for operations
and maintenance; with a 25 per cent reduction planned for the latter
by the year 2002. Compulsory military service will be retained but for
an increasing number of conscripts the length of service will be
reduced.
The government does not believe that South Norway is under any threat
of invasion on the short term and has therefore chosen to give
priority to the defence of North Norway, where there is still a need
for allied help. The situation in Russia is described as not yet
clarified. "There is a power struggle in progress. As yet, no one
knows how it will end. One cannot exclude the possibility of a return
to authoritarian rule," the report maintains.
The drastic cuts proposed for the defence have caused concern in a
number of quarters. Former prime minister Kaare Willoch (Conservative),
who led the cross- party Defence Commission of 1990, says that the
defence plan lacks coherence between ways and means, and that Norway's
defence capability will be weakened.
(norinform)
norinform/5 19 January 1993
"GREEN" SHIPS RESEARCH
A sum of about USD 16 million has been earmarked for a special
Norwegian research programme "environment-friendly ships" which will
be run under the auspices of a newly established Norwegian research
council. Leading the project is Einar Roed of Det norske Veritas
Classification, who says that the programme will help to put Norway in
the front line of the world's shipping nations with respect to
reducing pollution from shipping.
Half of all the dangerous discharges into the world's oceans are a by-
product of normal ship operation. Statistically these discharges equal
the sum of all the major accidents over a ten-year-period. The goal of
the research is to completely eliminate some of the discharges and to
reduce others by up to 30 per cent.
Experiments have already come a long way with regard to reducing
hydrocarbon gases and the researchers are working hard on preventing
the pollution caused by discharges of refrigerants and cleaning
agents. They hope to eliminate this source of pollution completely.
Another area of high priority is the improvement of anti-fouling
paint.
Einar Roed says that further progress in this field is dependent on the
cooperation of national authorities and international bodies such as
IMO, the UN maritime organization. Technology must be improved and the
human factor taken more into account. Nine out of ten problems arising
from lack of maintenance can be traced to negligence. (norinform)
norinform/6 19 January 1993
BID INVITED FOR 14TH CONCESSION ROUND
The Ministry of Industry and Energy has invited bids for 50 blocks in
the 14th round of concessions on the Norwegian continental shelf.
Twenty-five of the blocks are in the North Sea, 13 off mid-Norway and
12 in the Barents Sea. A deadline of 1 March 1993 has been set.
Not until this deadline has been passed will it be possible to gauge
interest in participation in the 14th round, and to pinpoint which
blocks are the most popular, but the oil companies have already
indicated the areas in which they are most interested and the blocks
will be allocated in accordance with their wishes and with the
assessment of the Ministry of Industry and Energy. The fact that half
of the blocks are in the North Sea is proof that oil companies are
still confident of making fresh discoveries there. This was confirmed
by Jan Hagland, information officer in the Petroleum Directorate. He
adds that interesting finds are being followed up offshore mid-Norway,
while completely new geological areas are being opened up. In the
Barents Sea too, where 50 wells have so far been drilled, the
operators are working in virgin territory.
The Directorate believes that interest in the new round will be just
as great as it was for the 13th concession round in 1991. In this
round 52 blocks were allocated and 24 oil companies vied for licenses.
After 1 March the Directorate will discuss the bids with the oil
companies before the Ministry announces its decision in September.
(norinform)
norinform/7 19 January 1993
CONCERTED ACTION AGAINST MILITANT ANTI-WHALERS
The police, the coastguard, central authorities, whalers and local
communities involved in whaling have decided to join forces in order
to prevent further illegal actions against Norwegian whaling vessels,
after the American environmentalist organization Sea Shepherd
attempted to sink the whaling vessel "Nybraena" in north Norway at end
December.
This was decided after a recent meeting in Oslo between
representatives from a number of government ministries, and whalers
and fishermen's organizations. The participants were unwilling to
divulge the details of their planned strategy, though it appears that
it is the whaling and fishing groups who will be responsible for
mobilizing local help in the event of conflict with militant
environmentalists.
The leader of the small whalers' association, Steinar Bastesen has
approached the US Embassy in Oslo with a request for aid to stop Sea
Shepherd's sabotage actions against Norwegian whalers. Bastesen would
like to see an extradition order issued against the leader of Sea
Shepherd, Paul Watson, who has admitted complicity in the recent
sabotage action in north Norway. Press spokesman Greg Crouch at the
American Embassy said that the USA is willing to assist Norwegian
authorities should they need help in their investigations. However, no
promises were issued as regards an extradition order against Paul
Watson.
The issue of the sabotage actions has also been raised during the
question and answer session in Norway's national assembly. (norinform)
norinform/8 19 January 1993
SALMON EXPORTS TO CONTINUE
For the time being there is to be no general ban on the import of
whole (ungutted) Norwegian salmon to the EC member countries. The EC
Commission's committee of veterinarians had been expected to impose a
ban on account of the salmon disease ILA, but the Committee decided
instead to postpone a decision. The newspaper Aftenposten alleges that
the EC Commission wishes to implement a partial ban on imports of
whole Norwegian salmon.
A temporary ban on imports was imposed after ILA was discovered on
about ten Norwegian fish farms. State veterinary authorities in Norway
say that the situation is now under control and that the disease has
been confined to a small number of fish farms. Representatives of the
EC's veterinary committee will shortly visit Norway to chart the
situation. They will then submit their conclusions to the EC member
countries and the EC Commission, which will make the final and binding
decision on the matter.
Norway exported salmon to the EC market for USD 642 million in the
first 11 months of 1992 - and USD 171 million of this trade was in
whole salmon. After the bans were imposed by Spain, France and Italy,
Norwegian exporters began gutting all their salmon, but increased
trade in cleaned fish did not counterbalance the drop in sales of
whole salmon. In the past week, total Norwegian salmon exports fell by
20-25 per cent. Compounding the problems with some of the EC
countries, storms along the Norwegian coast have made harvesting
difficult - another factor which inhibited trade. (norinform)
norinform/9 19 January 1993
DEBUT FOR EDVARD MUNCH AS A SONGWRITER
Few people have so far been aware that Norway's renowned painter,
Edvard Munch, also wrote poetry, but this omission is soon to be
rectified, when Munch's poetry is made known to a wider public.
Kirkelig Kulturverksted in Oslo - literally the church's cultural
workshop - has launched a CD of Munch texts sung by Kari Bremnes and
with music by Ketil Bjoernstad. The recording, named "Loesrivelse"
(breaking loose), is a daring and exciting venture, marked by high
drama, rapid pace and the uncompromising disclosure of life's
fundamentals; anxiety love and death.
Munch wrote the texts for pictures which he himself painted, and they
bear the same names as the paintings. Among the 15 songs on the CD
are, "The Scream", "Jealousy", "The Sick Child" and "Madonna".
The singer, Kari Bremnes, says that she approached Munch with a strong
measure of respect, though not so great that it prevented her from
making his texts her own. She substitutes Munch's "I" with "he", in
order to justify using a woman to present the texts.
Ketil Bjoernstad himself plays the synthesizer, while the other
musicians are Marius Muller (guitar), Audun Kleive (drums), Paolo
Vinaccia (percussion) and Bjoern Kjellemyr (bass). (norinform)
norinform/10 19 January 1993
LOW INFLATION RATE
From 1991 to 1992, prices in Norway rose by an average of 2.3 per
cent. This is the lowest inflation rate since 1960, when inflation was
only 0.3 per cent. From November to December last year, prices fell by
0.1 per cent.
Minister of Government Administration Oddny Aleksandersen says that
for the fourth year in succession Norway's domestic inflation rate is
lower than that of its trading partners. She points out that when the
fiscal budget was adjusted late last year, it was based on Government
estimates of a 2.75 per cent rise in consumer prices from 1992 to
1993. This estimate was made before the decision to float the
Norwegian krone. It now seems that this move can push inflation up, as
a weakened NOK exchange rate will result in higher prices on imports.
(norinform)
HOUSEHOLD SAVINGS GREATER THAN EXPECTED
Norwegians have more money in the bank than was previously believed.
Fresh figures from Norges Bank, the central bank, show a doubling of
previous estimates of Norwegians' personal wealth. Household financial
fortunes were calculated to almost USD 14 billion.
Financial fortune consists of all acounts receivable, minus debt. The
value of property, second homes and other real capital is not included
in the figure. Thus, there appears to be no foundation for the
previous belief that Norwegians borrowed so much in the commercial
bonanza of the 80s that their capital was totally eroded. (norinform)
.