Western Norway - Economy

Economy

Western Norway is a very rich region. The region is stood for around 70% of the total Gross National Product of Norway—Europe's richest country. Today is Stavanger the capital of oil in Norway. Before petroleum, fishing and agriculture were the most important economic activities in Western Norway. The region was responsible for 51% of aquaculture and fishing domestic product in Norway. Western Norway, Jæren, Karmøy, Voss, Sunnfjord and Fræna comprises a rich agricultural area. The inland fjord areas of Hardanger are more sheltered, with rich fruit districts specializing in apples and cherries.

Stavanger is a leading industrial area in Western Norway. Ålesund contains many engineering firms, and the bulk of Norway's furniture industry is gathered on its rocky coast.

Along the coast fishing plays the same role that forestry does elsewhere. At the same time, it forms the basis of a large fish-processing industry and offers seasonal employment for many farmers. Of all fishermen only half fish as their sole occupation. Most vessels are owned by the fishermen themselves, the necessary crew members being paid by shares of gross income in a continuation of a centuries-old tradition of the sea. A critical problem is how to avoid depleting the fish resources while maintaining the volume. About half the catch goes into fish meal and oil, but some is processed for human consumption in freezing plants. Fish offal is used as feed at mink farms. In the northwest the city of Ålesund thrives on fishing. Ålesund is one of the world's largest and most important ports for bacalao.

By the mid-1990s Norway had become the world's second largest oil exporter (behind Saudi Arabia). The first commercially important discovery of petroleum on Norway's continental shelf was made at the Ekofisk field in the North Sea late in 1969, just as foreign oil companies were about to give up after four years of exploratory drilling. Intensified exploration increased reserves faster than production. Nevertheless, by the mid-1990s about half of export earnings and nearly one-tenth of government revenues came from offshore oil and gas, and these revenues continued to increase as the end of the century approached. It was estimated that the high rate of oil production could be sustained at least into the second decade of the 21st century, while that of natural gas was projected to increase dramatically and be sustained much longer.

More than one-fourth of the huge investment made in Norwegian offshore operations by the mid-1990s went toward the development of the Troll field just west of Bergen, one of the largest offshore gas fields ever found. Its development ranked as one of the world's largest energy projects. With a water displacement of one million tons and a height of nearly 1,550 feet (475 m), the Troll A production platform was the tallest concrete structure ever moved when it was towed into place in 1995. Gas deliveries from the Troll field made Norway a leading supplier of natural gas to continental Europe.