The pipeline that was applied for was to be laid by the American company Phillips Petroleum, the operator of the Ekofisk field. The oil was to be transported to the coast of England, while the gas was to be transported to Germany. It was apparent that future oil and gas discoveries would be able to use the same pipelines. That also made the pipelines crucial for the relatively new state-owned oil company. Statoil's CEO, Arve Johnsen, argued in favour of government participation: The pipelines will be the new highways, and it is vital to be involved in deciding who can use them and at what price.
This was almost 50 years ago, on December 5, 1972. Arve Johnsen was met with scepticism, but he won out in the end. Norway got its first oil pipeline company when spring came, equally owned by the Phillips Group and Statoil.
The next big task was to create jobs here in Norway. Norwegian politicians wanted to connect the pipelines to Norway, so the oil and gas could be transported from here to the markets in Europe. This topic became relevant at the Statfjord discovery. Still, a significant challenge remained: The Norwegian Trench, an inhospitable gorge along the coast of Norway where the pipeline had to go down to more than 300 meters below the surface.
In 1985, the Norwegian continental shelf, Norway and Europe could finally be connected. The development continued as new and large oil and gas resources were unearthed. Today we have the world’s most extensive subsea pipeline system. 8800 kilometres of high-tech highways make Norway a stable supplier of energy to Europe.
