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USD 1 = NOK 7.00 No. 09 - 9 March 1993
CONTENTS:
Continued interest in prospecting on Norwegian shelf (1)
Penguin rockets to the Greek navy (2)
Shiny, but not silver, Saga anniversary (3)
Ambitious project in Jordan (4)
Heavier punishment for fauna crimes (5)
Wilhelmsen satisfied with 1992 result (6)
Foreign journalists look at whaling issue (7)
Ambitious plan to save the wolves (8)
Financial expenses slimmed Braathen's profits (9)
Orkla still feeling effects of UNI crisis (9)
More jobs in oil (10)
New legislation on genetic engineering (10)
norinform/1 9 March 1993
CONTINUED INTEREST IN PROSPECTING ON NORWEGIAN SHELF
All the major Norwegian and overseas oil companies, with the exception of
Norske Fina, have signalled their continued interest in prospecting on the
Norwegian shelf. When the deadline for bids in the 14th round of concessions
expired on 1 March, even Norske Shell and the German oil company Deminex
were among the contestants. The list of applicants includes all the
20 companies who are already operating on the shelf. The Ministry is thus
quite satisfied with the number of "suitors" in the 14th round,
says one of its spokesmen, Marit Ytreeide. This time the oil companies could
choose between 50 blocks: half in the North Sea, 13 between Stad, on the
west coast, and Finnmark county, and 12 in the Barents Sea.
It has yet to be disclosed which blocks have ranked highest on the
oil companies' lists, but competition is stiffest for those in the North Sea
- both the ones farther north and those in the vicinity of existing southern
fields.
It was not until the deadline that Norske Shell signalled its interest.
Last year the company demonstrated against taxes and what it considered an
overly restrictive framework by refraining from placing any bids.
But shortly before Christmas, the Storting voted to abolish the sliding
scale which enabled the state to unilaterally increase its share in blocks
that prove to be commercial. A demand for a minimum state share of 50
per cent was also withdrawn. Both reforms were applauded by the international
oil companies.
(norinform)
norinform/2 9 March 1993
PENGUIN ROCKETS TO THE GREEK NAVY
Armaments manufacturer Norsk Forsvarsteknologi (NFT) of Kongsberg, south
Norway, has been awarded a contract to supply Penguin missiles to the Greek
navy. The first phase of the contract is worth about USD 21 million, but
future deliveries could bring in additional millions.
Andreas Dahl, director at NFT, says that the contract covers the same type
of missiles (air-to-surface) that are now being series produced for the US
Navy's Sikorsky helicopters. The Greek Defence, which has previously purchas
ed Penguin ship-to-ship missiles, is in the process of buying Sikorsky
helicopters equipped with Kongsberg missiles for its frigates.
"This is an important deal, both because it marks a breakthrough for
air-to-surface missiles in another country, and also because it will ensure
continuity in our production apparatus," says Andreas Dahl.
In addition to the new contract, NFT has also signed a deal with
Sikorsky covering the electrical adjustments needed in order to enable the
helicopter crews to service the Penguins. An option on testing equipment,
training and the delivery of instruction manuals is also part of the deal.
The Penguins are to be delivered in the second half of 1994.
(norinform)
norinform/3 9 March 1993
SHINY, BUT NOT SILVER, SAGA ANNIVERSARY
Saga Petroleum is celebrating its 20th anniversary this year and its
latest annual result was positive - a profit rise of USD 14.3 million after a
growth in both turnover and costs. The 1992 result is acceptable,
especially when contrasted with the problems encountered by "big brothers"
Statoil and Norsk Hydro last year. Saga, like the other oil companies on
the Norwegian continental shelf, is now reaping the benefits of its huge
investments in the 1980s. But in contrast to Statoil and Hydro, Saga has
concentrated on pumping up oil. With the currently troubled downstream market
- refining and petrochemicals - Saga's limitations are also its
advantages.
The company's operating profit rose from about 660 million US dollars in
1991 to 770 million last year, despite a fall in the oil price of nearly 2
dollars a barrel. Saga pulled this off by increasing its volume and
earning more on its transport of oil and natural gas. But a simultaneous rise
in operating costs - about USD 130 million - reduced operating profits
by nearly USD 16 million to USD 180 million. The result was further trimmed
by about USD 16 million incurred in currency exchange rate losses
and by the devaluation of Saga's shares in Elkem.
After a negative financial result of USD 64 million, Saga wound up with USD
115 in pretax profits, compared to 111 million dollars in 1991. The company
had to pay USD 75 million in taxes, so its net return was about 40 million
dollars, a gain of over 14 million.
(norinform)
norinform/4 9 March 1993
AMBITIOUS PROJECT IN JORDAN
At the end of February, a Norwegian team of social scientists was
commissioned to carry out a study of living conditions in Jordan which
will be the most comprehensive ever undertaken in the history of
this country. The USD 1.5 million project will start immediately and last for
two years.
The Norwegian Trade Union Centre for Social Science and Research (FAFO)
has taken on the assignment at the request of the Jordanian government and
royal family. King Hussein of Jordan expressed the hope that this
study, like previous FAFO studies on the West Bank and in Gaza, will
be a positive contribution to the peace process in the Middle East.
The World Bank and a number of donor nations are to back the project
finanacially.
FAFO director Terje Roed Larsen says this will be one of the most
ambitious scientific studies ever attempted in Jordan. A good 6,000 of the
country's 3.5 million inhabitants will be questioned, including
Palestinians. A team of more than 200 Jordanians is to work together with a
Norwegian leader group consisting of about twelve people. The study
will focus on health, education, income, housing and working conditions, the
overall aim being to provide a complete socio-economic "map" of life in
Jordan.
FAFO will at the same time be cooperating with Kings College, Cambridge,
and Harvard University on the task of building up a worldwide research
network. Common Security Forum, as it has been named, is dedicated to the
study of world security problems. The Forum is led by a steering group
headed by Crown Prince Hassan of Jordan.
(norinform)
norinform/5 9 March 1993
HEAVIER PUNISHMENT FOR FAUNA CRIMES
Poachers, egg collectors and others who steal from nature will have a
tougher time in Norway from now on. This coming spring, the national
assembly is expected to pass more stringent legislation regarding flora and
fauna crime. The maximum penalty for serious violations of the law will be
increased from one year's unconditional imprisonment to two years. In
addition, the limitation period will be extended from two to five years.
The news of the impending tightening up of the law was released at a
recent meeting in Oslo, where representatives of animal rights organizations
met with wildlife administration authorities and with the police,
prosecuting authorities and customs and excise officials from Norway, Sweden
and Denmark.
Participants at the meeting discussed ways and means of combating
illegal trafficking in wild animals and plants from the Nordic countries. In
the EC the illegal import of Scandinavian birds, predators and plants
is a flourishing business. A particularly blatant example of this type of
crime was uncovered last year when a large cache of stolen animals
was discovered in a German garden. Among the birds of prey found there were
36 gyrfalcons, and 6 golden eagles, which investigators believe were
captured in Norway.
One weapon which is expected to be particularly effective in the battle
aginst fauna crime is a new legal clause which will make it a punishable
offence to sell or even to possess wild animals without a valid licence.
A special data base is also being set up to register the names of all known
persons who have stolen protected animal or plant species.
(norinform)
norinform/6 9 March 1993
WILHELMSEN SATISFIED WITH 1992 RESULT
Norway's Wilh. Wilhelmsen shipping company posted a profit last year of USD
23 million pre extraordinary items. The comparative figure for 1991 was
USD 29 million. "We could have wished for a bigger surplus, but
considering the problems facing international shipping, this is a
satisfactory result," says information officer Hans Chr. Bangsmoen.
Last year, the primary operating profit was USD 87 million, as against USD
83 million in the preceding year. Most shipping operations showed a
steady development and the economic results were good. This applies both to
Wilhelmsen Lines and to Wilship; the sector of activities not concerned with
liners. Income from the tanker sector was slightly less, but this was
partially offset by good results in the car freight sector. The oilrig
company, Wilrig, posted a disappointing result and in the parent
company's accounts its shares have been written down by a total of USD 25
million.
Wilship is putting a lot of money into tankers. A 300,000 dwt newbuilding
was delivered in January and another will follow in October. The former
vessel, "Tartar" achieved a rate of USD 27,000 a day on its first
assignment. This is sufficient to cover operation, interest on loan capital
and some of the loan instalments.
Despite the generally gloomy situation in world shipping, Wilhelmsen expects
its 1993 results to be on a par with those of last year. (norinform)
norinform/7 9 March 1993
FOREIGN JOURNALISTS LOOK AT WHALING ISSUE
At a meeting for journalists arranged on the Lofoten Islands of north Norway
in February, the Minister of Fisheries Jan Henry T. Olsen presented
Norway's viewpoint on the hotly debated issue of commercial whaling. At
the meeting he explained why the Government has decided to permit commercial
minke whaling from this summer. The 40 journalists present, mainly
foreign correspondents stationed in the Nordic capitals, were the guests
of Norway's Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
Despite a number of critical questions to the Minister and to Norwegian
whaling experts, Olsen described the opposition as moderate. Some of
the pressmen present said that they understood Norway's viewpoints on the
matter, but that these are extremely difficult to put over to their readers
abroad. Also, the Minister of Fisheries caused a degree of disquiet in the
ranks of the whalers by announcing that this year's Norwegian catch quota
will not be made known until after the meeting of the International
Whaling Commission in May. The whalers assert that this delay will impede
their preparations for the hunt.
Among the participants at the meeting was British TV journalist Tim Pritchard
of Channel 4. Pritchard plans to make a 50-minute documentary on commercial
minke whaling. He intends to spotlight the environmentalist organization,
Greenpeace, a strong campaigner in the anti-whaling lobby. Among the
questions he would like to clear up is whether Greenpeace has ulterior
motives for its commitment.
(norinform)
norinform/8 9 March 1993
AMBITIOUS PLAN TO SAVE THE WOLVES
Within a few years, Norway and Sweden are to have 8 to 10 families of
wolves, several of them in Norway. They will be very strictly protected and
mates will be procured for lone females. This is the gist of a plan to be
submitted by the Ministry of the Environment. It is a direct
consequence of a resolution recently passed in the national assembly,
the Storting, and a step in the direction of fulfilling the terms of an
international convention on biological diversity which Norway signed last
year.
At present there is only one family of wolves in Norway, consisting of
about five animals. The pack roams the border regions between Hedmark
county in southeast Norway and the V?rmland province of Sweden. Ninety
per cent of its hunting grounds are on the Swedish side of the border. There
is a corresponding group further north in Sweden and possibly a third in
Dalarna, further south.
In a bid to increase the three groups to 8-10, the authorities will
tighten up restrictions. There will be a total ban on hunting and those who
do so will be punished under the terms of new legislation on fauna crime.
Stray male wolves will be anaesthetized and released in areas where females
are believed to be ready to mate. In addition, a Swedish-Norwegian joint
surveillance project will be established. Local populations living in areas
frequented by wolves will be drawn actively into the project. "We will
remove the aura of mystery from the wolf and try to counteract the
traditional, irrational views people have about it," says Boerre
Pettersen in the Ministry of the Environment. Whether this strategy will
have any effect on the farmers is highly doubtful. They have already
vigorously protested the plans. (norinform)
norinform/9 9 March 1993
FINANCIAL EXPENSES SLIMMED BRAATHEN'S PROFITS
Norway's biggest domestic airline, Braathens SAFE, recorded USD 470 million
in pre-tax revenues last year, up 10 per cent on 1991. The management
did not consider a net profit of USD 3 million to be satisfactory, despite
the fact that it was almost a doubling of the 1991 figure, USD 1.71 million.
The item that pulls the figures down is financial expenses of around USD 41
million, which was USD 32 million more than in 1991.
Passenger traffic increased by 8 per cent on the 1991 figure, while
the occupancy rate rose 3 percentage points to 58 per cent. Braathens has
a 50.9 per cent share of the domestic market in Norway.
(norinform)
ORKLA STILL FEELING EFFECTS OF UNI CRISIS
Operating profits in the Orkla goup, after ordinary depreciation, rose 37
per cent from 1991 to 1992, to reach USD 170 million. In the industrial
division, returns on capital employed were 18.5 per cent, compared with
13.8 per cent in 1991. But tipping the balance the other way were
weak results in the investments sector. These were a consequence of
the slump on the Oslo Bourse and the depreciation of Orkla's shares in Elkem
and UNI Storebrand - Orkla lost USD 46 million on the latter. This
brought Orkla's ordinary result down to only USD 45 million, a considerable
drop on the 87 million posted in the previous year.
(norinform)
norinform/10 9 March 1993
MORE JOBS IN OIL
There was a substantial increase in the number of jobs in the oil sector
last year. Figures from the Labour Directorate show that there were 8,400
more jobs in oil in August 1992 than at the same time one year
previous. There are currently 72,100 people employed in this sector.
The biggest increase (5,700) was within the sector industry, construction
and installations. Engineering and service companies registered increases of
1,100 and 600 jobs respectively. This growth is attributed to a high
level of development on new fields such as Draugen, Sleipner, Troll and
Heidrun. Drilling firms had fewer employees than before.
(norinform)
NEW LEGISLATION ON GENETIC ENGINEERING
Norway's parliament has passed new legislation on genetic engineering,
the intention of which is to ensure that modern biotechnology will be
developed and applied in accordance with the basic values of society.
The new legal provisions mainly involve the develpment of plant
organisms - technology which is not widely applied in many countries.
There are no provisions regarding genetic testing of human beings,
genetic therapy or transplantation of human organs which have been
modified by treatment with genes.
The Christian Democrats, the Centre Party and the Socialist Left are
sceptical to several elements in the new regulations, claiming that
they are not restrictive enough. The Christian Democrats point out the
need for an ethical debate on the issue and for an analysis of the
consequences of new legislation on ecology, health and society in general.
(norinform)
.