Plentiful reserves of fossil fuels and rich seams of valuable minerals are no guarantee of national health, wealth or happiness. The “resource curse” has blighted many countries: Venezuela and the Democratic Republic of Congo, for example, have suffered from years of graft, civil unrest and poverty.
After discovering oil in the 1960s, Norway has managed to escape these troubles. It allied fossil fuel extraction to a robust judicial system and political institutions, and created what is now the world’s largest sovereign wealth fund. Norway has become Europe’s largest producer of oil and is home to some of the richest and happiest people in the world.
A government-commissioned report found that the 25-year-long project would be more expensive than originally anticipated and benefits would come with “great uncertainty.” The government is to bear 80% of the cost. The rest will come from oil companies Equinor ASA, Total SA and Royal Dutch Shell Plc, experts in handling gases and drilling under the seabed. Many oil companies see scaling carbon capture and storage (CCS) technology as a future source of growth as the world looks to reach net-zero emissions.