What you need to know about Norway

Former International Trade Adviser with BGI Claire Rannou regularly accompanied oil and gas fact-finding missions from North East Scotland to Norway. Now with Scottish Enterprise Grampian, she has compiled this detailed introduction to our number one oil and gas export market.

The current situation?

Recently confirmed in a survey as the North East's largest current export market for the oil and gas industry, Norway is an extremely important market for local exporters. Geographical proximity, a similar operating environment, good UK-Norway political relationships and the majority of the population speaking fluent English are all factors which bode well for trading success.

But potential suppliers nonetheless face a number of challenges.

The Norwegian market is mature and indigenous, and well-established multi-national companies occupy strong and influential positions.

Despite this, however, there are still good reasons why the UK can increase its share of the Norwegian market.

The Norwegian oil and gas environment is changing from being a relatively closed market to one which is looking increasingly outwards. There are three main drivers behind this change in attitude:

an increasing awareness that Norway is a high-cost producer (and hence needs to evaluate potential cost-saving new technologies from other countries)
a growing respect for environmental concerns
and a trend towards global procurement.

The facts

If you are looking to build up a good knowledge of the Norwegian Continental Shelf (NCS) to assess the potential for your business, a good source of statistical and historical information is Facts 2004 - the official guide produced by the Norwegian government's Ministry of Petroleum and Energy -

http://odin.dep.no/oed/engelsk/p10002017/p10002019/026031-120023/dok-bn.html

The opportunities

Potential opportunities exist in several areas of the Norwegian oil and gas market. Click here to access a detailed twenty-page report which breaks down the main market sectors for analysis by potential UK suppliers - http://217.118.37.39/Full_NCS_Market_report.pdf

Getting the business - some do's and don'ts

Do

Carry out your research in advance, identify your target companies and who you should be speaking to. At the same time, try to get to know your potential competition - knowledge is power, after all!

Expect Norwegians to be very direct with you (sometimes this can be mistaken for rudeness). This straightforward approach, although sometimes initially unsettling, will probably save you time in the long run.

If a Norwegian prospect is not interested in your product or service, he'll probably tell you to your face. At the same time, however, he may equally feel disposed to pass on to you contact details of other potential customers of whom he has knowledge.

And make sure you register with Achilles (FPAL equivalent) to pre-register your company's products.

Don't

Don't make one trip and expect instant success. Norway is a long-term market and you should expect to show your commitment through regular visits. It is, after all, only just over an hour's flight from Aberdeen to Stavanger !

Don't call contacts in the late afternoon. With the one-hour European time difference and an early-start, early-finish policy few Norwegians work on in the office UK-style into the early evening.

And please don't moan about the price of beer! Norwegians fully recognise that their cost of living is higher than other parts of Europe - but they are also extremely patriotic and really do not appreciate their country being criticised.

How to set up in Norway

The decision to set up an operations base in Norway is not a decision that should be taken lightly. Such a move will undoubtedly demonstrate your commitment to the market, but this should be balanced against the overall costs of setting up, the implications to your home business and the extent of the potential market for you in Norway

The Norwegian Oil Industry Association, OLF, is a professional body and employers' association for oil and supplier companies on the NCS. OLF is a member of the Confederation of Norwegian Business and Industry, NHO, and produces a useful "Contractor's Guide for working in Norway " covering the following practical topics:

Work and Residence Permits,
Safety and emergency training
Medical examinations for work offshore
Reporting to Norwegian tax authorities concerning contracts and personnel
Transport and security when travelling offshore
Reporting occupational injuries
Working hours
Use of subcontracted personnel
Aliens and the national insurance system

The guide is available at OLF's website www.olf.no

Promoting yourself

As well as keeping up-to-date with activities on the Norwegian Continental Shelf (NCS), you can promote your own business successes through submitting news releases about contracts, new technology and other topics to a wide audience including purchasers and technical personnel in oil companies and major contractors through www.oilport.net

How can we help?

Scottish Enterprise Grampian in co-operation with Scottish Development International (SDI) organises a variety of activities aimed at assisting new as well as established exporters to assess and explore the Norwegian market.

Recentactivities have included missions to Stavanger and Kristiansund as well as opportunities to learn about the Norwegian market in Aberdeen through organised networking evenings. Through the British Embassy in Oslo , research can be commissioned on your behalf to identify relevant contacts in market.

For more details on how we can help you access the Norwegian market contact Clare Rannou at claire.rannou@scotent.co.uk.