Norway is the eighth largest producer of oil in the world and the 3rd largest exporter.  Most of the Norwegian oil is produced in the North Sea and Barents Sea off of the coasts of Norway.  Last week, in the Campos basin 85 kilometers off of the coast of Brazil, Statoil, Norway´s largest oil producer, began production at the Peregrino platform.  The Peregrino field was discovered in 1994, but it wasn´t until 9 years later, that Statoil acquired a share of the platform (50%).  The development plan for the field was approved by the Brazilian government in 2007, and Statoil acquired the remaining half of the field in 2008.  Pending government approval, a different company, Sinochem will purchase 40% of the field from Statoil and thus have 40% ownership and operational control.

This new development for Statoil in Brazil of course raises questions regarding Norway´s role in oil production and global warming, which I fully understand is a problem and welcome comment on.  However, it also does assist Brazil in it´s quest to develop into a more global competitor in the oil industry.  The new field will increase Brazil´s oil production by 5% in 12 months time and employ nearly 1,000 workers both onshore and off.  Peregrino will also be Norway´s largest oil field outside of Norwegian waters.

See here for an article from Tuesday from Aftenposten about the Peregrino Oil field.

Some Norwegian words to look for and their meaning:

olje-oil

felt-field

fat-barrel

økning i produksjon-increase in production

utbyggingsplanen-development plan

godkjent-approved

i løpet av-over the course of