Pollution preparedness and response

The Norwegian petroleum industry has very high environmental and climate standards compared with those in other countries.

Oil spills can cause damage to fish, marine mammals, seabirds and the shoreline.

In Norway, most major oil spills have been from shipping near the coast. The Norwegian petroleum industry has not been the cause of any major oil spills that have resulted in environmental damage. In the roughly 50 years since Norway’s petroleum activities began, no oil spill from the industry has ever reached the shoreline.

Norway has private, municipal and governmental oil spill preparedness and response services to limit the impacts of any acute pollution that does occur. Under the Pollution Control Act, operators are required to maintain a level of preparedness and response that is dimensioned to deal acute pollution from their activities.

Read more on acute pollution preparedness and response on NorwegianPetroleum.no