Staff committee formed The Eanof house union

Norway ratifies Frigg treaty

by Trude Meland, Norwegian Petroleum Museum

After swift consideration, the Norwegian Storting (parliament) unanimously approved "the agreement between the government of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and the government of the Kingdom of Norway relating to the exploitation of the Frigg field reservoir and the transmission of gas therefrom to the United Kingdom", to give the Frigg treaty its full official name.

This accord had been reached between the two governments in 1976. Its consideration by the Storting began at 11.00 on 19 January 1977 and was completed by 11.15.

The treaty covered a complex set of issues concerning both governments. These included the apportionment of resources in the Frigg reservoir between Norway and the UK, safety arrangements and the pace of production. Others were freedom of movement for personnel on the installations, division of tax revenues, pipeline construction and operation, and tariffs. The main problem which the treaty sought to resolve was the exercise of national authority. Since the boundary between the UK and Norway runs through Frigg, jurisdiction is British on one side of the field and Norwegian on the other.

As operator for the whole field, Elf Norge A/S had to report to the UK authorities and observe British legislation and regulations. An important exception was the Norwegian labour law, which also applied to the UK side of the field.[REMOVE]Fotnote: Elf Weekly, 28 January 1977, page 7.