Last week, OPC’s Managing Director Piers Johnson attended the Society of Petroleum Engineers (SPE) Norway Subsurface Conference in Bergen to reconnect with industry colleagues and discuss new projects. Piers gives us a summary of his trip:.
“It’s been a while since I last attended SPE Bergen, pre-COVID, and I was curious to see how the event has changed. Historically, SPE Bergen was a two-day event, then reduced to one and a half days, and now it’s just a single-day affair”.
“One of the highlights of the trip was a meeting with Torgeir Norstad, who attended my PTA training course when he was a Challenge Graduate at BP over 20 years ago. Now, he’s with Wintershall Dea, and he kindly commented “yes I remember your excellent PTA training course!” Wintershall are a client of OPC and I’m hoping to extend this into Norway.
In addition to Torgeir, I had productive meetings with Wellesley Petroleum, PGNiG, and Equinor and reconnected with many historic clients and contacts.
Opportunities in Norway.
The Norwegian oil and gas market holds significant potential, but navigating its intricacies requires understanding local practices and regulations. Consultancy in Norway has become more complex, with consultants needing fixed scopes of work and limited contracts due to union involvement. OPC has a Norwegian legal entity, OPC Norge A.S., which helps in establishing a presence in the Norwegian market.
A pleasant place to visit.
Norway’s high cost of living is well-known, but I didn’t find it as steep as in the past. The current exchange rate of 13.75 NOK to GBP is in favour of the British Pound, making beer a bit more affordable—about £8 for a 0.4-liter glass, or £10 for a pint. Despite the cost, Norway is a pleasant place to visit, with clean streets, a strong work-life balance, and friendly people.
Overall, SPE Bergen is a valuable event for anyone interested in the Norwegian oil and gas market. It’s a small and personal event with not many attendees so its fairly easy to engage with people there. I enjoyed the trip and look forward to returning again.
