ABSTRACT
North Sea oil has changed the premises of economic policy in the UK and Norway. The UK or Norway to benefit from the potential advantages of the new oil industry, a delicate and careful balancing of economic, energy, industrial, social and regional policies is necessary. In the period after the Second World War the UK had a sluggish and uneven rate of economic growth, with chronic balance of payments problems, a generally low rate of investment and serious labour problems. The differences in the post-war economic positions of the UK and Norway are further accentuated by the size of the new oil industries in relation to the traditional economies. UK coal and Norwegian hydro-electricity have provided fairly plentiful domestic energy sources, and have provided the basis for industrial development that is based on fairly abundant energy. The offshore oil industry is a permanent threat to the environment because of the potential for spills and blow-outs.
