Norway Oil Exploration Refunds Are Not State Aid -ESA

Wednesday, March 20, 2019

Norway's regulations allowing oil and gas companies to claim refunds for exploration spending do not constitute state aid, the European Free Trade Association Surveillance Authority (ESA) said on Wednesday.

"Having scrutinized it on the basis of a comprehensive complaint, ESA is satisfied that this tax rule does not entail state aid," ESA President Bente Angell-Hansen said in an emailed statement.

The case was brought to ESA by Bellona, an environmental non-profit organization seeking to block oil firms' access to cash refunds, which have fueled a boom in Norway's petroleum exploration.

"ESA has now concluded that the measure is not selective. The measure is available to all companies on an equal footing. According to EEA (European Economic Area) state aid rules, a measure that is not selective does not constitute state aid," the agency said.

The EEA consists of European Union member countries in addition to EU outsiders Norway, Iceland and Liechtenstein.


(Reporting by Nerijus Adomaitis, editing by Terje Solsvik and Louise Heavens)

Categories: Legal Finance Energy Offshore Energy Europe Government Regulations

Related Stories

Viridien to Shed More Light on Malaysia’s Offshore Oil and Gas Potential

US Pressure on India Could Propel Russia's Shadow Oil Exports

SBM Offshore Starts Construction of FSO for Trion Oil Field off Mexico

MDL Secures Cable Laying Job in Asia Pacific

Saipem Bags $1.5B Contract for Türkiye Largest Offshore Gas Field

Floating Offshore Wind Test Center Planned for Japan

TotalEnergies Inks 10-Year LNG Supply Deal with South Korea’s KOGAS

Saipem Marks First Steel Cut for Tangguh UCC Project at Karimun Yard

Pandion Energy Divests Interests in Three Norwegian Assets to Inpex

China Rolls Out 17MW Floating Wind Turbine Prototype

Current News

Malaysia’s Petronas and Oman’s OQEP Strengthen Oil and Gas Ties

Southeast Asia’s 2GW Cross-Border Offshore Wind Scheme Targets 2034 Buildout

Pharos Energy Kicks Off Drilling Campaign Offshore Vietnam

Viridien to Shed More Light on Malaysia’s Offshore Oil and Gas Potential

US Pressure on India Could Propel Russia's Shadow Oil Exports

Energy Drilling’s EDrill-2 Rig Starts Ops for PTTEP in Gulf of Thailand

RINA Wins FEED Contract for Petronas’ Flagship CCS Project in Malaysia

ABL Secures Rig Moving Assignment with India's ONGC

Pakistan, Türkiye Deepen Oil and Gas Ties with Offshore Indus-C Block Deal

Eni-Petronas Gas Joint Venture Up for Launch in 2026

Subscribe for AOG Digital E‑News

AOG Digital E-News is the subsea industry's largest circulation and most authoritative ENews Service, delivered to your Email three times per week

https://accounts.newwavemedia.com