ABSTRACT
The Norwegian government on the other hand is anxious to get German assistance in building up their industry. With Ekofisk and Frigg in production, the main puzzles confronting the Norwegian government concern Statfjord. The government's long-term program described two of these. The first involves the landing of Statfjord oil; the second concerns the transmission of Statfjord gas, including the decision whether to build a gas trunk line from Statfjord to the continent. Statfjord, which lies northwest of Bergen, was discovered in 1973 and declared commercial in 1974. Interwoven with the examination of the technical considerations, there has been a great deal of discussion concerning Nordic energy cooperation. The idea of broader energy cooperation among the Nordic countries was first taken up in December 1972. In addition, the Nordli government decided after Bjartmar Gjerde became industry minister to use the Statfjord oil and gas as the fulcrum of Norwegian industry development.
