Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre said on 28 September that the country will be deploying its military to protect its oil and gas installations against possible sabotage following the Nord Stream pipeline attacks.
The Norwegian Government decided to heighten the emergency preparedness in relation to infrastructure, onshore and offshore installations on the Norwegian Continental Shelf after the sabotage of Nord Stream 1 and Nord Stream 2.
Norway’s offshore safety regulator said there had been a number of sightings of unidentified drones or aircraft inside the safety exclusion zones that surround oil and gas facilities, raising the risk of explosions, helicopter collisions or of “deliberate attacks.”
Norway’s energy and petroleum minister Terje Aasland said:
“There has been close contact between the Norwegian government, the police, the Norwegian armed forces and the operators on the Norwegian continental shelf. On this basis, the government has decided to enact measures to heighten emergency preparedness in relation to infrastructure, onshore and offshore installations on the Norwegian continental shelf.”
“Some of the background are reports of increased drone activity. An investigation is ongoing. On a general basis, there is a high awareness around operational safety on the Norwegian continental shelf.”
Norway has a total of 119 oil and gas fields on the Norwegian shelf, with 94 fields in production: 71 in the North Sea, 21 in the Norwegian Sea and two in the Barents Sea.
