"Fisheries more important than oil"
The fishery industry will be the biggest growth sector in northern Norway, while the oil industry will develop more slowly than previously anticipated, a group of researchers say. They also doubt Gazprom will be able to meet its time schedules in the Shtokman project.
A new report from the Norwegian Institute of International Affairs (NUPI) maintains that fisheries will remain the most important industry in the Norwegian north. The forecast comes amid major focus on the oil and gas industry in the region. -Northern Norway has had an exaggerated belief in a rapid development of the oil and gas industry, NUPI director Jan Egeland says to newspaper Nordlys. -We believe that the good old fisheries will be more important for the north in year 2018 than people expect, he adds. The NUPI researchers also doubt that Gazprom and the Shtokman partners will be able to meet its ambitious time schedule for the giant project in the Barents Sea. They rather believe that the field will come into operation in the mid 2020s
