Norway Beats Back Lawsuit Seeking to Curb Arctic Oil Drilling
The Songa Offshore Songa Enabler rig, operated by Statoil ASA, stands in the Snohvit gas field in the Barents Sea off the coast of northern Norway.
Photographer: Mikhael Holter/BloombergThis article is for subscribers only.
Norway beat back an unprecedented lawsuit by environmental groups that sought to curb oil drilling in the country’s Arctic waters.
The government acted lawfully in awarding exploration licenses in the Arctic Barents Sea to companies such as Statoil ASA and Chevron Corp. in 2016, Oslo District Court said in a ruling on Thursday. The risk of environmental damage from the government’s decision is “limited and remedial measures are sufficient,” the court said, also ordering the environmental groups to pay 580,000 kroner ($72,000) in court costs.