Norwegian petroleum industry: An international success story

“The strong position that certain environments have attained internationally is quite clearly the result of a willingness to invest in new technology on the Norwegian continental shelf and to bring it into operation. Innovation within the domestic market has opened the door to international markets,” says Gulbrand Wangen, Managing Director of Intsok.

Eight different clusters
The internationalisation of the Norwegian petroleum industry has been a priority task over the past 10 years. The intention has been to utilise the expertise and technology developed on the Norwegian continental shelf internationally, and through this strengthen the long-term foundations for the growth and development of the petroleum cluster.
In KonKraft Report no. 4, Intsok has studied eight very different oil and gas clusters and their strategies and results. The aim of the study was to illustrate how different environments around the country have tackled the work associated with increased internationalisation.

Having it both ways
The internationalisation has led to a significant increase in the level of activity within the Norwegian areas. The high level of international growth has not suppressed activity on the Norwegian continental shelf. At the same time as turnover in foreign markets increased from USD 3.4 million to almost USD 10 million in 2005, turnover on the Norwegian continental shelf almost quintupled.
“The international focus has also contributed to higher employment, stronger economic growth, and greater expertise within many local communities. However, we see a clear need for Norwegian research and development environments to increase their focus on international challenges. It is our recommendation that both the authorities and the industry do their utmost to get new international bodies, preferably national oil companies, involved in the future development of our technology,” says Wangen.

Contact persons:
Gulbrand Wangen (+47 917 08 055), Managing Director, Intsok
Willy Olsen (+47 958 78 968) Specialist Consultant, Intsok

Background, KonKraft Report 4

Click here to download summary

The clusters:

• The South Coast of Norway cluster, better known as the ‘Node cluster’, is a world leader within the field of drilling equipment and controls 90% of the world market.
• The Kongsberg area produces a wide spectrum of advanced products and systems, and an increasing proportion of its market is from outside Norway.
• The Stavanger region has extensive expertise within well technology and is increasingly concentrating on areas away from the Norwegian continental shelf.
• Møre and Romsdal leads the world in advanced vessels for use in the oil and gas industry.
• The Verdal network’s internationalisation is powered by Aker Verdal.
• North Norway is continuing the development of the petroleum industry by drawing on experience from the Snøhvit project. Current ambitions extend into the Barents Sea.

The last two clusters are thematic and therefore comprise companies that are not necessarily located in the same area, although they are concerned with the same operations.

• The floating production cluster is a true successor to strong Norwegian industry and most of its market is international.
• The maintenance, modification and operation cluster (MMO) has until now been involved in tackling demanding assignments on the Norwegian continental shelf, but it is now increasingly focusing on international opportunities.

Principal conclusions:

• Internationalisation has helped to strengthen the Norwegian petroleum industry and has created new and challenging industry opportunities.
• Several regional petroleum clusters already concentrate the bulk of their activities in areas other than the Norwegian continental shelf and the importance of the international market is increasing.
• Some of the clusters are among the world leaders in their field.
• The global opportunities are considerable in a market undergoing rapid growth. Advanced technological solutions are necessary to ensure that the world has adequate supplies of oil and gas.
• The Norwegian continental shelf has been a breeding ground for innovation and technological development. It is important that the foundations are laid in such a way that this can continue. Additionally, the focus must increasingly be extended from the challenges of the Norwegian continental shelf to the challenges faced globally.
• There is an intense battle for capacity and the best knowledge.
• It is crucial that the industry retains its head offices in Norway. If these offices are moved to another country, the association with the Norwegian petroleum clusters will be weakened.

About Intsok

Intsok was established in 1997 as a joint pledge between the industry and the authorities to strengthen the foundations for the internationalisation of the Norwegian petroleum industry. Intsok is now represented in the large and growing international markets and is working to ensure that Norwegian companies secure assignments within these markets.

About KonKraft

KonKraft is a collaboration arena for the Norwegian Oil industry Association, the Federation of Norwegian Industries, the Norwegian Shipowners’ Association and the Norwegian Confederation of Trade Unions (LO).

KonKraft and its mandate is described in more detail in Storting Report No. 38 (2001-2002) (pages 87-88):

“The fall in oil prices in 1998/99 has unleashed profound structural changes within the oil and gas industry both internationally and nationally. Combined with a gradual maturing of the Norwegian continental shelf, this has presented Norwegian petroleum operations with new challenges. In dialogue with the Norwegian based oil and gas industry, the Ministry of Petroleum and Energy has worked to respond to these challenges. The intention is to strengthen the competitiveness of both the Norwegian continental shelf and the industry. This process is known as ‘KonKraft’. KonKraft is partly a continuation of Norsok, although it has a much broader embrace. … The participants within KonKraft comprise representatives of all areas of the petroleum industry. An important aspect of the work within KonKraft is to create a long-term vision for the industry in which the long-term development perspectives that face the industry are reflected, and to identify and implement measures that build upon this.”

The entire Storting Report can be downloaded from here (Norwegian only)


The KonKraft reports were commissioned by the former Minister for Petroleum and Energy, Odd Roger Enoksen.
The work in connection with the reports is carried out by bodies within the petroleum industry.

Overview of the projects:
•    Energy Nation Norway
•    Production development on the Norwegian continental shelf
•    Internationalisation
•    The petroleum industry and
•    Oil and gas operations in the north
•    Local and regional consequences of petroleum operations

In addition, the Ministry of Petroleum and Energy is carrying out an individual project called “Structural changes within the petroleum industry”.