ISSN 0804-709X
www.norwaves.com
NORINFORM - Weekly Edition
Produced by NORINFORM, Norwegian Information Service,
P.O. Box 241 Sentrum, N-0103 Oslo, Norway
Tel (47) 22 11 46 85, Fax (47) 22 42 48 87
Editors: Ragnvald Berggrav, Helge Loland
The NORINFORM press office was established by The Norwegian
Information Council and provides overseas news services in
several languages, daily (in English only) and weekly.
NORINFORM also produces the monthly magazine Norway Now and a
fulltext database containing bulletins and articles about
Norway.
Information from Norinform is complimentary. Reproduction
permitted. Please mention source of information.
*****************************************************************************
USD 1 = NOK 6.80 No. 14 - 4 May 1993
CONTENTS:
Kvaerner lands historic contract (1)
Hydro profits rising (2)
Minke whale population is stable (3)
World's best cyclists to Norway (4)
Plan against drug and alcohol abuse attracts international interest (5)
Pollen filter could make life easier (6)
Safer at sea (7)
Putting a price on Norway (8)
Forests teem with elks (9)
Helping the Swedes communicate (10)
Minesweeping in Iraq (10)
norinform/1 4 May 1993
KVAERNER LANDS HISTORIC CONTRACT
In the face of stiff competition from European and Japanese yards,
Norway's Kvaerner group has landed the biggest shipbuilding contract in
the history of the concern. The USD 985 million deal covers the
construction of four liquid natural gas (LNG) carriers for the Abu Dhabi
National Oil Company in the United Arab Emirates. Furthermore, sub-
supplies during the building period can provide several hundred jobs in
Norway.
The four vessels, each with a capacity of 135,000 cubic metres, will
haul gas between Abu Dhabi and Japan. They are to replace the five old
ships now trafficking this route. Out of the 66 LNG carriers at present
in service on the world's oceans, 34 have been built according to
Kvaerner's design. The wheel has thus turned full circle for Kvaerner,
which has again assumed a leading position as a builder of gas carriers
based on its own technology.
Kvaerner is not currently negotiating any new LNG contracts, but the
market for such vessels is expanding. Kvaerner's management can therefore
hope for a demand for 30-40 more of this type of ship in the next 15
years. (norinform)
norinform/2 4 May 1993
HYDRO PROFITS RISING
In every one of its major divisions, Norsk Hydro's first quarter
returns exceed results for the same period in 1992. The company's
profits after taxes total USD 75 million - more than twice as much as
in the first quarter last year. Profits are expected to soar even higher
in the second quarter, when Norsk Hydro can post a USD 500
million sale of Freia Marabou shares to Kraft General Foods. Hydro
netted USD 360 million in pretax and pre-interest revenues on its sale
of shares in the Norwegian confectionery firm.
Hydro's turnover in the first three months was USD 2.46 billion - up
from 2.34 billion last year. The company's operating profits as of 1
April totalled 215 million, about 60 million more than in the
first quarter of 1992. The half state-owned company's oil and gas
activities continue to be its biggest money- making venture,
accounting for USD 134 million of Hydro's operating profits. Norsk
Hydro's operating profits from its petrochemical division rose to
17 million in the first quarter, although PVC prices are still low. In
the field of light metals, Hydro earned 43 million, compared to about 13
million in the same period last year. Sales in its agricultural
division rose from USD 29 million in the first quarter of 1992 to 37
million in the first quarter in 1993.
These improvements increased profits on Hydro stock by about 20
cents to USD 0.37 per share. "Prices are still weak and markets tight,
so the proceeds are less than they should be," says Hydro
executive director Leiv L. Nergaard. He warns that costs must be cut if
profits are to be upheld. (norinform)
norinform/3 4 May 1993
MINKE WHALE POPULATION IS STABLE
The minke whale population in the northeastern Barents Sea is as large
today as it was 50 years ago, despite extensive harvesting up to 1983.
This was stated by the Central Bureau of Statistics, which in a fresh
report on natural resources and the environment quotes research
findings which claim that the minke whale population has remained
virtually stable since the end of WWII.
"This is yet another sign that a limited catch of minke whales is no
threat to the species," says Vegard Ellefsen, acting press spokesman at
the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Professor Lars Walloee, who is
Norwegian representative on the scientific committee of the
International Whaling Commission (IWC), supports this assessment.
However, press spokesman Tore Killingland in the Norwegian Society
for the Conservation of Nature is sceptical to the validity of
comparing whale observations made in the 1950s with the counting
methods used today, though he makes no comment on the finds
reported. Unlike a number of other environmentalist
organizations, the Norwegian Society for the Conservation of Nature is
not opposed to Norwegian whaling, but does not recommend it.
Norway halted commercial whaling in 1987, pending accurate estimates of
the size of the whale population. Despite the IWC ban on
commercial whaling, the Norwegian authorities decided last year to
resume this activity in 1993 - on the basis of estimates of whale
populations presented by the scientific committee of the IWC.
(norinform)
norinform/4 4 May 1993
WORLD'S BEST CYCLISTS TO NORWAY
In a sporting context, 17 August will be a date to remember as it marks
the opening of the World Cycling Championships '93, one of the biggest
sports arrangements ever to be held in Norway. Nearly 1,000 competitors
from 60 countries will be arriving in Norway, accompanied by 3,000
trainers; 1,500 media representatives will be covering the event. The
first part of the championships is to take part in a newly constructed
velodrome at Hamar, 100 kilometres north of the capital, while the start
and finish of the road race on 29 August will be in Oslo.
International interest in the event is prodigious. About 35 television
companies will be filming the road race and at least one billion viewers
are expected to follow it in their own living rooms.
The final details in this gigantic arrangement are now falling into
place. For a while the organizers were hampered by financial problems.
The fact that these were finally solved can be attributed, not least, to
the efforts of a former prime minister, Jan P.Syse, who is president for
the arrangement. The total bill is nearly USD 9 million. Sponsors will
be contributing nearly USD 3 million and a roughly equal amount will be
coming from public funds. If the championsips show a surplus, it will
be put into procuring a permanent velodrome in Norway.
Norwegian cyclists have made a name for themselves in international
arenas through the years. The most famous of these is Knud Knudsen,
whose golden days were in the 70s. More recently, Dag Otto Lauritzen
has been Norway's ace. He is now hoping to round off his career by
winning top honours in home ground in the World Cycling Championships
'93. (norinform)
norinform/5 4 May 1993
PLAN AGAINST DRUG AND ALCOHOL ABUSE ATTRACTS INTERNATIONAL INTEREST
A Norwegian plan of action to combat the misuse of drugs and
alcohol among health personnel could become a global export. The World
Health Organization (WHO) in Geneva has recently proposed a project
based on the 'Haukeland model' which will be tested at university
clinics in 12 countries. If all goes according to plan, a
five-year programme can start in August at hospitals in Eastern Europe,
Africa, Asia, South America as well as in Norway. Tests of the plan
are being considered in Mexico, Australia and the United States.
Dr. Sverre Fauske is the architect of the Haukeland model, which was
created after serious drug and alcohol abuse problems were uncovered
among personnel at Bergen's Haukeland Hospital in the late 1980s.
The model requires the active participation of management as well as the
hospital rank and file. In contrast to American methods, in which
employees can be submitted to unscheduled urine analysis, the
Norwegian system is based on understanding and voluntary
participation.
Haukeland Hospital representatives are pleased with WHO's
interest and recognition of their plan. "The international project
will not only have a preventive effect against abuse for those
in a vulnerable profession. When health personnel at major hospitals
become more apt in interpreting signals of drug and alcohol abuse,
and are instructed in ways to solve problems, a wider sphere of the
population in participating countries will benefit," says Atle
Halvorsen at Haukeland Hospital.
(norinform)
norinform/6 4 May 1993
POLLEN FILTER COULD MAKE LIFE EASIER
Those who must sleep behind tightly closed windows in spring and
summer on account of an allergy to pollen may soon be able to fling
open their windows like everyone else. Frode Stenberg, a Norwegian
living not far from Oslo,has invented a pollen filter which can
eliminate the problem which plagues the lives of many.
Stenberg has been producing mosquito netting for several years and came
upon the idea of putting his knowledge to use on a combination of a
mosquito net and a special filter fine enough to exclude pollen.
but to let light and air slip through.
The pollen filter is an electro-magnetic filter of the same type
that is used in a number of air purifiers and car ventilation
systems. It effectively hinders the entry of particles down to a
size of 0.5 my (pollen particles are huge in comparison). It also
excludes several other types of dust that float in suspension in the
air.
Four people are now hard at work producing do-it-yourself kits which can
be soon be purchased in hardware stores in Norway. The assembly process
is simplicity itself. The mosquito net is fastened to the window
frame with the aid of soft magnetic tape and the pollen filter is then
attached to the net. The degree of pollution in the air determines how
often filters must be replaced but Stenberg believes most filters will
have a lifetime of about two years.
He has now applied for a patent for his new invention.
(norinform)
norinform/7 4 May 1993
SAFER AT SEA
The number of accidents aboard Norwegian ships in international waters
has been halved during the last few years. There are also significantly
fewer accidents along the Norwegian coast, according to the Norwegian
Maritime Directorate. What the figures clearly show is, that while more
and more attention has been brought to bear on accidents at sea, their
numbers have in fact dropped substantially. The Directorate, which
compiles statistics over all types of serious accidents aboard ship,
believes that the positive trend can be attributed to improved safety
measures on board and to better and more frequent controls.
The Directorate's list covers all vessels of more than 500 grt
which are registered in the Norwegian Ordinary Register (NOR) as well as
vessels in the Norwegian International Ship Register (NIS) and
foreign registered ships trafficking the Norwegian coast.
In 1990there were 32 serious accidents aboard Norwegian registered
ships in foreign waters. This figure dropped to 19 in 1991 and last
year to 16. Along the Norwegian coast 15 serious accidents were
registered in 1990, while the figures for 1991 and 1992 were 17 and 11
respectively. The term "serious accident" is applied either when
ships have sunk or have been characterized as unseaworthy after the
accident.
Norwegian shipping authorities are expected to tighten up fire
precautions for passenger vessels, thus contributing further to the
cause of safety at sea.
(norinform)
norinform/8 4 May 1993
PUTTING A PRICE ON NORWAY
Anyone want to buy Norway?. If so, it will cost about USD 1.5 thousand
billion. The figure has been calculated by the Central Bureau of
Statistics and is included in a report which is the first of its kind
to have been compiled in Norway.
The Central Bureau has divided the country's national wealth
into three categories. The biggest of these it has called human capital,
which is described as the current value of future income from work. A
highly qualified work force constitutes Norway's most valuable economic
resource, worth an estimated USD 946 billion and constituting 67 per
cent of total national wealth.
Second in value is real capital - infrastructure, buildings, and
machines. Its estimated worth is nearly USD 366 billion, USD 37 billion
of this amount coming from oil and gas facilities in the North Sea.
By comparison with the other categories, natural resources are
insignificant - representing only 7 per cent of the country's wealth.
More than 80 per cent of the total value of natural resources, which is
USD 101 billion comes from oil and gas, previously estimated to be
worth almost USD 84 billion. The value of hydroelectric power is
estimated at USD 13.4 billion, while the forests are "assessed" at USD
4.4 billion.
According to the report, the fisheries are not worth a great deal to
Norway, especially when wage costs and normal returns on capital are
substracted from profits on sales. Furthermore, the fisheries are
subsidized. (norinform)
norinform/9 4 May 1993
FORESTS TEEM WITH ELKS
The elk hunt in Norway reached a peak last year, with a total bag
of 35,100 animals. The number of elks - the "kings" of the northern
forests, has increased fivefold during the last 20 years, and in some
places they are starting to be a little too many. The number's harvested
last year were an increase of 3,000 on the year before and with the
exception of two counties in southern Norway, every county noted an
increase in the number of animals felled. Elks are now so numerous that
few hunters have any difficulty in taking their permitted quota. Last
year, 89 per cent of the quota was filled, Hedmark county in
southeast Norway taking a clear lead with 8,200 felled animals.
In addition to the necessity of controlling reserves, the elk meat is
in itself a considerable economic resource. Last year's hunt yielded
5,200 tonnes of meat. If one calculates the same price for elk meat
as for beef, the value of the meat was USD 42 million.
There are a number of reasons for the steep rise in the numbers of
elks in the last 20 years. Among other things, rough grazing has been
reduced, intensive felling has left treeless areas in the forests
and fertile female elks are protected.
The rise in the number of elks is generally considered as positive,
but the Directorate for Nature Management thinks that the limit has now
been reached. "We're afraid that some areas have more elks than they
can sustain," says Johan Danielsen, senior executive officer at the
Directorate. (norinform)
norinform/10 4 May 1993
HELPING THE SWEDES COMMUNICATE
Alcatel Telecom Norway A/S has contracted to deliver a new
telecommunications system to the Swedish defence. When completed, the
system - designated TS9000 - will cost about USD 150 million.
"This deal is among our biggest ever. The Swedish choice also boosts
our position in the European market," says information director
Helge Qvigstad at Alcatel STK A/S.
The equipment consists of a tactical telecommunications system which
transmits speech as well as data. It functions as a miniature telecom
network and can serve around 500 users over an area of 50
square kilometres. A series of deliveries will start in 1996, but the
Swedes will begin testing the hardware next year.
(norinform)
MINESWEEPING IN IRAQ
The Norwegian People's Relief Association plans to assist in a mine-
sweeping operation in Northern Iraq, where about 20 million mines pose a
constant threat to Kurdish civilians. According to the human rights
organization, Middle East Watch, from 12 to 20 people were killed daily
by mines in the area in 1992. The Norwegian People's Relief
Association is counting on about USD 1 million in financial backing
for the project from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. However, the
Ministry's aid is contingent on participation in the operation from
other countries and the UN.
(norinform)
.