Norwegian oil companies cooperate with a Chinese oil drilling company. China and Norway are also planning cooperation in the field of green transition.
A subsidiary of a Chinese state-owned company starts oil drilling off the coast of northern Norway. The permission from the Norwegian authorities responsible for drilling permits would come at the same time as Norway’s security service warns of China’s growing influence and intelligence operations. To write about it Norwegian news site The Barents Observer.
An oil rig is already in place at the oil field, which is about 80 kilometers from the northern coast of Norway. The oil rig is owned by COSL Drilling Europe, the European subsidiary of the Chinese state-owned company COSL. It has an agreement with two Norwegian companies Vår Energi and Equinor. Equinor is owned by the Norwegian state.
Oil production has been declining in Norway for a long time, but it is currently increasing despite climate change. Chinese oil rigs remain on the coast of Norway for years.
Cooperation in the field of green transition with China is also of interest to Norway. Cooperation plans were announced In connection with the Norwegian Prime Minister’s visit to Beijing in September.
Chinese merchant ships under suspicion
Norwegian intelligence authorities have urged caution in cooperation with China. According to analyses, China is increasing intelligence activities in the north and the country’s goal is to gain not only economic and political influence but also a military foothold in the Arctic regions.
The intentions of the Chinese shipping company Cosco, which sought the port of Kirkoniemi as a partner, raised doubts in the Norwegian government to such an extent that the government intervened in the matter this fall. In Finland, the protection police also monitor the company.
The security service of the Norwegian police has already warned that Chinese ships sailing in Norwegian waters can in some cases transmit critical intelligence information about, for example, coastal infrastructure. Adding to the concern is the law enacted in China, according to which companies and citizens are obliged to help the Chinese intelligence authorities if necessary.
China advancing in the Arctic is a red garment for Trump
China has been walking around the world wearing shopping pants for years and trying to acquire land, infrastructure and companies from the region. Many purchase projects have been shelved for safety reasons. For example, Denmark did not allow the sale of a former naval base in Greenland, nor did Finland approve the sale of Kemijärvi airport.
In recent years, China has intensified cooperation with Russia and bought shares in oil and gas drilling projects in Russia’s northern sea areas. The state company COSL’s oil rigs have operated at least on the coasts of the Yamal and Kola peninsulas.
China and Russia both have a great interest in the Northeast Passage, where the ice cover thinned by climate change makes shipping easier. Even ice is not an obstacle for China: the country has already completed three of its own icebreakers.
Closer cooperation between China and Russia in the Arctic regions is unlikely to be on the mind of the incoming Trump administration, and according to expert estimates, the United States may challenge China in the Arctic region.