University Of Oslo News

The extent of the continental shelf beyond 200 nautical miles outside Bouvet Island has now been clarified with the Continental Shelf Commission (CSC) in New York.The Commission’s recommendation is in line with Norway’s proposal submitted to the Commission in 2009 and revised in 2015.According to a press note from Norwegian Petroleum Directorate (NPD), the Ministry of Foreign Affairs led the work on the shelf proposal.NPD, which is the State’s authority charged with geotechnical mapping of the continental shelf, has been responsible for preparing the technical and scientific documentation required by the UN Convention on Law of the Sea.

The Board of Directors of Petroleum Geo-Services ASA (PGS) has appointed Rune Olav Pedersen (47) as the new President & CEO of the Company. He will succeed Jon Erik Reinhardsen on 1 September 2017. "The Board has run a thorough succession process since early spring, and assessed a number of very qualified Norwegian and international candidates. With the appointment of Mr. Pedersen, PGS will get a CEO with deep knowledge of the Company and industry and with strong execution capabilities. We look forward to working closely with Mr. Pedersen in the time to come," says Chairperson Walter Qvam. Rune Olav Pedersen has worked in PGS for 7 years and comes from the position of Executive Vice President & General Counsel.

The Space Flight Laboratory (SFL) announced the successful launch of two Norwegian microsatellites developed and built by SFL for the Norwegian Space Centre with support from the Norwegian Coastal Authority, Space Norway and the European Space Agency. The Soyuz-2.1a rocket carrying the satellites into orbit launched from Baikonur at 06:36:49 UTC Friday, July 14, 2017. Shortly after launch both satellites were contacted from ground stations in Svalbard and Vardo, Norway. Both satellites are healthy based on initial telemetry, and commissioning is underway.

Statoil has decided to launch a large project to write the story about the company for its 50th anniversary in 2022. The University of Oslo has been chosen the main supplier in a project that will also involve other Norwegian research institutions. «Statoil’s history» will be a historical fact-based research project to be ready for the company’s 50th anniversary in 2022. The project aims to acquire new knowledge about Statoil and the petroleum activity’s significance to society through 50 years and convey it to the public. The project is also to be a professional training tool for coming generations. The end product will include a history in two volumes and a comprehensive website that will be integrated with the books and provide further images, films and sound.

Henrik O. DNV GL president and CEO Henrik O. Madsen was appointed as chairman of the executive board of the Research Council of Norway. The executive board is the Research Council’s highest authority, and the newly appointed board will commence Jan 1. 2015. The main functions of the Research Council of Norway is to provide strategic policy input, administer research funding and serve as a meeting place for the development of research policy and dissemination of knowledge in Norway.

Elisabeth Tørstad has been appointed CEO in DNV GL - Oil & Gas. She took on the role from January 2014, operating from the company’s Oil & Gas headquarter in Oslo. “I am very pleased to announce that Elisabeth Tørstad has accepted this role. Her background, career and experience match very well with the opportunities that lie ahead for DNV GL’s Oil & Gas business,” says Henrik O. Madsen, DNV GL Group President & CEO. “The oil and gas industry is facing rapid changes and increased public scrutiny on its safety and environmental performance. At DNV GL we have high ambitions for our oil and gas services and 5.500 experts in 37 countries working on a daily basis to drive this industry to become safer, smarter and greener.

DnB NOR has appointed Vidar Andersen as the new head of its Shanghai branch succeeding Espen Lund who has returned to the bank’s headquarters in Oslo after an eight year stint as China country head. Vidar Andersen said today: "I am very pleased to have been given such an opportunity and I approach the task with both humility and pride. Espen Lund is taking up a position in the management team of the International Corporates and Institutions Division with a particular responsibility for customers doing business in Asia.

Kongsberg Maritime's simulation division and Vestfold University College has signed a framework agreement to further explore activities and projects of joint interest within research and development of maritime simulators from an innovation and human factor perspective. The agreement which was signed 22nd December 2010 comprises extensive R&D project plans and the use of an Interactive Simulator Laboratory (SIMSAM lab) at Vestfold University College, which will serve as a R&D facility. The agreement will include several R&D projects involving maritime simulators in different aspects.

Svein Ringbakken has been appointed by the DNK Board to take over the mantle as Managing Director upon Bjørn Eidem’s retirement. Before joining DNK in 2004 Svein Ringbakken had a 14 year-long career with INTERTANKO, based in London, Washington DC and Oslo, where his last position was Deputy Managing Director and General Counsel. Current Managing Director, Bjørn Eidem, has held a number of key positions in both Norwegian and international business including the chairmanship of Scandinavian Airlines Systems, media and yard groups in addition to serving as director and counsel of Fred Olsen & Co. Bjørn Eidem will maintain contact with business life as a part-time arbitrator in commercial disputes and resuming board work.

Kongsberg Maritime AS, Simulation & Training has made an agreement with the Research Council of Norway to form a user-directed research program called SIMAR - Simulation of Demanding Maritime Operations - which is aimed at improving simulation training by enhancing focus on human factors. The main goal of the research project is to obtain new and improved knowledge of human factors in a learning environment based on simulated complex maritime operations, in order to develop a new generation of research based, maritime simulators for demanding and risky operations, e.g.

Hafslund ASA has hired Ingeborg Aass Holten (42) in the role as Senior Vice President Organizational Development. Holten will be part of Hafslund ASA's Executive Committee and joins the company at the latest 1 May 2004. She will replace Trond Aker who has filled the deputy role since November 2003. Ingeborg Aass Holten joins Hafslund with professional experience from the management consulting company Accenture, where she has worked since August 1997 as Associate Partner. She has been Accenture's specialist within the Human Resources (HR) Practice and she has been responsible for HR-related projects, HR-strategies, personnel management, strategic competence management, leadership development and development of measuring and rewarding systems.

The University of Oslo has decided to move three grand Viking ships, probably by truck and barge, to a new museum across town despite dire claims that the thousand-year-old oak vessels could fall apart en route, according to a report on the New York Times News Service. A retired curator of Oslo's current Viking Ship Museum -- Arne Emil Christensen -- reportedly has said the delicately preserved ships, two of which are nearly 80 feet long, were almost equal in archeological importance to the Pyramids. The university's board of directors voted 8-3 to move the vessels over the objections of Christensen and several other Viking Age scholars.

Norway, shocked by a collapse in oil prices last year to below $10 per barrel, has lifted contacts with other crude producing countries to unprecedented levels, Deputy Oil Minister Erling Grimstad said. He said close contacts with producer nations, including members of OPEC, would continue even though prices have more than doubled to above $23 per barrel. But Norway has no plans for formal participation in OPEC. "Norway, after the price collapse in 1998, intensified contact with OPEC and other oil producing countries...During that period we have had closer cooperation and contact than we have had at previous times," Grimstad said. "We will continue to have close cooperation with oil producing countries...we see this as in our best interests.