Last week, a majority of the parties in Stortinget, the Norwegian parliament, agreed on tax relief for the oil industry and also agreed on landing oil from the Johan Castberg field, off the North Norwegian coast, near the North Cape on condition that this may be in accordance with EEA regulations.

However, Norwegian Oil and Energy Minister Tina Bru now says to parliament that the cannot guarantee that the landing facility will be constructed, according to Energi24.

This is so because the Ministry already has approved a development plan for the Castberg field that does not include landing this oil, but rather for crude oil to be loaded onto cargo ships and transported directly to the markets.

If the state now were to support and co-fund the construction of landing facilities at Veidnes near the North Cape, this will – according to the Oil and Energy Minister – constitute state support that is not allowed under the current EEA regulations.