The Royal Norwegian Order of Merit awarded Douglas Brown
His Majesty King Harald of Norway has decided to give Douglas Brown The Royal Norwegian Order of Merit, Knight First Class. Douglas is the former CEO of Norske Skog and former President of NBCC (2006-2008). The award will be presented by the Ambassador at the Embassy in the near future.

The Royal Norwegian Order of Merit was founded by King Olav V in 1985. It is conferred on foreign and Norwegian nationals as a reward for their outstanding service in the interest of Norway.

StatoilHydro gets consent to drill with West Alpha
StatoilHydro has been granted consent to conduct exploration drilling
of the wells 30/3-10S and sidetrack 30/3-10A with the West Alpha
semisub. Read more

Norway losing oil, but gas stronger than ever
Norway in February 2009 will mark what many believe was the seventh year of falling oil production, although the country’s gas fields have never produced more. Read more

StatoilHydro: gas supply to Europe largely set
One of Europe’s largest suppliers of gas — Norway’s energy champion StatoilHydro — said it was already producing all the gas it could, and any extra sold was bound for the Continent's trading clearance hubs and not gas-starved Central Europe. Read more

Seadrills West Phoenix commences operations for Total
The ultra deepwater semi-submersible drilling rig West Phoenix
commenced operations for Total Norge at the Victoria field in the
Norwegian Sea. Read more

The shelf in 2008
In 2008, more exploration wells were drilled on the Norwegian continental shelf than ever before. 56 exploration wells were spudded, compared with 32 in the previous year. Read more

Roxar signs off highly successful 2008
2008 sees multi-million dollar software agreements in region, a growing relationship between Roxar and Asia Pac NOCs, and Roxar Investment in leading educational institutions. Read more

Market downturn gives Nor-Shipping upturn
"We see that a market slowdown increases the importance of industry's marketing efforts, at least at key events. For this reason, our message to the market for Nor-Shipping 2009 is 'Join the Leaders…now more than ever!'," said Nor-Shipping director Tollef Schiander. Read more

Norway exports record volumes of seafood
Norway exported seafood worth NOK 4.9 billion in October, an increase by 26 per cent, compared with the same month last year. Read more

2012 Update from Think London
It is only just 1,295 days – or 185 Tuesdays - to go to the start of the 2012 Games! The update includes news, open tenders, upcoming tenders, closing observations. Read more

Around £188 million for carbon capture and storage in 2009
The Norwegian Government has ambitious goals for carbon capture and storage (CCS), and the work to reach these goals will continue as planned in 2009. Read more

European Parliament seals climate change package
After eleven months of legislative work, the European Parliament gave its backing to the EU's climate change package which aims to ensure that the EU will achieve its climate targets by 2020: a 20% reduction in greenhouse gas emissions, a 20% improvement in energy efficiency, and a 20% share for renewables in the EU energy mix. Read more

Working Time Directive: No exceptions to the 48-hours maximum working week and opt-out scrapped after three years say MEPs
MEPs say that there must be no exceptions to the 48 hours-maximum working time calculated over a reference period of 12 months and say the opt-out must end three years after adoption of the directive. It also says that any period of on-call time should count as working time. Read more

Commission decisions on the Lisbon Growth and Jobs Strategy
The European Commission has adopted a package to help implement the European Economic Recovery Plan and reinforce the Lisbon Growth and Jobs Strategy. The adoption of country chapters assessing Member States' progress in implementing the Lisbon Strategy will take place in the New Year. Read more

The EEA is 15 years old!
The Agreement on the European Economic Area celebrated its fifteenth anniversary on 1 January 2009. Read more

Fronter is Acquired by Pearson
NBCC Corporate Member Fronter, a European online learning company, is acquired by Pearson, the international education and information company. Read more

Norway in the UK - the highlights of 2008
The last 12 months have seen many Norwegian highlights in the British Isles, including numerous large cultural events, and a few cute animals hitting the headlines for all the right reasons... Read more

Linn Ullmann is a winner
The Independent has placed Linn Ullmann’s “A blessed child” among the 20 best books in 2008. Read more (in Norwegian)

Torchlight procession for peace
In Norway's five largest cities, tens of thousands of people marched in torchlight processions Thursday evening in support of peace and in support and memory of the victims of the ME war. A pro-Israeli demonstration turned into a street fight. Read more

New hopes for the new year
In his speech to the nation on New Year's Day, Prime Minister Jens Stoltenberg said we are allowed to bring new hope with us into the New Year, despite the financial crisis and the new fighting in the Middle East. Read more

Ibsen-inspired play at the National Theatre
Samuel Adamson’s play ’Mrs. Affleck’, inspired by Henrik Ibsen’s ’Little Eyolf’, will be staged at the National Theatre in London from January through April. Read more

Members’ Forum with the Economist Intelligence Unit
Speaker: Ania Thiemann, Senior Editor/Economist
“The World Economy and what it means for Norway and the UK”