On Monday, His Royal Highness Crown Prince Haakon of Norway attended the opening ceremony and visited several of the exhibitors when the International Conference of Offshore in the Northern Sea (ONS) opened in Stavanger.
Before the opening ceremony, the Crown Prince received a guided tour of the conference hall, accompanied by CEO of ONS, Leif Johan Sevland, Minister of Petroleum and Energy Terje Søviknes, Stavanger rapporteur Christine Sagen Helgø, county governor Magnhild Meltveit Kleppa, police chief Hans Vik and chairman Tor Arnesen in ONS.
His Royal Highness also gave a speech during the opening. His Royal Highness said: “Over the past years, the oil and gas industry has gone through major demanding readjustments. In Norway, this has affected considerable parts of our nation’s economy. It has changed many people’s everyday life”.
His Royal Highness Crown Prince Haakon of Norway. Photo: Oskar Aanmoen / Royal Central.
In the speech, the Crown Prince also praised the investment many oil companies make in advanced battery technology, solar power and the production of offshore wind power. Crown Prince Haakon stated that: “In difficult times, your industry has been able to reduce cost and increase efficiency. In addition, you have demonstrated willingness to make long-term investments in new business models, technologies and solutions, in order to adapt to a new market reality”.
The main theme of the ONS conference 2018 is ‘Innovate’. With this, ONS wishes to introduce new thoughts, methods and technology for a more climate-friendly energy industry. The oil and energy conference goes over four days and is arranged every two years in August.
His Majesty King Herald of Norway was present during the first ONS event in 1974. Since then, a member of the Royal Family has been present during the event each time it has been held. The event has always targeted companies with business in the North Sea basin. Today it covers the global market.
