Norway NGOs Seek 23rd Round Verdict Appeal

Norway's petroleum ministry said February 5 that it had been informed that Greenpeace Norden and Natur og Ungdom (nature and youth) are appealing the verdict of Oslo District Court in favour of the ministry's handling of the 23rd licensing round.

The original action by the two environmental non-governmental organisations (NGOs) challenged the award in 2016 of licences in the Barents Sea, in Norway's Arctic waters. Norway's Supreme Court must now decide if it will hear the appeal.

"The state notes that the plaintiffs have chosen to appeal the verdict of Oslo District Court. We have not yet received the appeal, and can not comment on it, but will usually study it thoroughly when it arrives and then file our appeal to the court," said Norway's attorney general Fredrik Sejersted, according to a statement released through the petroleum ministry.

Greenpeace Norden said that Cathrine Hambro of Oslo-based law firm Wahl-Larsen is representing both it and Natur og Ungdom alongside Emanuel Feinberg from another Oslo law firm, Glittertind.  

The 23rd licensing round awards in the Barents Sea were to: Statoil (operatorship of four  licences), Lundin three, and one licence each to Spirit Energy, Det Norske, and Cairn.