– Losses will be disastrous – E24

– Losses will be catastrophic and have already started to be recorded due to downsizing and layoffs. It is incomprehensible that the government does not listen to the industry and do whatever it takes to secure hundreds of thousands of jobs, value creation and experience, ”says Stavanger Mayor Kari Nessa Nordtun.

For the oil industry, there is no good news that Oil and Energy Minister Tina Bru can send the oil county home after the government submitted a proposal for a revised national budget on Tuesday.

Hope of Ap, Frp and Sp

Deputy Mayor for Sandnes, Pål Morten Borgli fully agrees with Kari Nessa Nordtun.

– It seems that the government is now trying to finalize a liquidation plan for our most important industry. They talk about jobs, but they talk about the industry and it doesn’t fit. Now Sp, Ap and Frp must be together for the district and western Norway in particular. I don’t think many people in and around Oslo understand where our wealth comes from, says Borgli.

Federation leader Frode Alfheim at Industrial Energy admits he is disappointed.

– Yes, here company after company went and said it was not enough. The signs have been strong and clear that both Prime Minister Erna Solberg and Finance Minister Jan Tore Sanner should have strengthened the package. This does not hold. Now we have to rely on Storting to clean and strengthen the package, says Alfheim.

He points out that the goal of a package of measures for the oil industry was that it should trigger new projects that will stimulate growth along the value chain.

– How can Storting guarantee that there are changes?

– I think Ap, Frp and Sp will put this in place. There are also good powers in government that will make this happen. We can already see that the layoffs are beginning to come. When order books are emptied during the summer and early fall, it’s just the beginning of something that can scale dramatically, and we can’t afford that, says Alfheim.

– You must create a new activity.

The package of measures presented by the government on April 30 called for a temporary tax change that could generate NOK 100 billion in investments between 2020 and 2021.

In practice, this meant less tax at the time of investment, but more tax in the future. But at the same time, the government sharpened the so-called free income, which, according to the oil industry, led the government to “find one hand but the other.” The benefit was thus eaten.

Furthermore, the industry would have an extension of the time perspective in the package, so the effect also applies to all projects to be decided until 2022.

– The tax package that was identified was not a blank authorization for the industry. We rely on that. The goal is to keep jobs. When the industry says the measures are not good enough and in practice causes projects to be postponed and canceled, Storting must act along the way and provide solutions that the industry finds interesting to sustain investment and create new activity, says federal leader Hilde-Marit Rysst I am safe.

She recalls that Norway and the state should not make money from the crisis, but rather make sure that the industry comes out of the crisis well and secures jobs before moving on to normalization.

When it comes to measures for the future climate-friendly industry, Rysst is pleased that the government prioritizes this, but he also reminds us that the industry needs help here and now.

– I am incredibly concerned when I read this from the government. This should not be a rescue package for the oil industry, but safe jobs. This is not a package for conversion, but a package for closure, it is the clear message from Eirin Sund, regional leader at LO Rogaland.

She believes that the government has not implemented measures that can remedy the crisis in the oil industry.

– Less activity, more layoffs and more layoffs. This will be dramatic for workers and business owners. Now I hope that the parliamentary majority will see that this is very serious and change the packages. Here in Rogaland and western Norway, this will feel great, and it will directly affect the treasury in the form of reduced income as well, says Eirin Sund.

Fear of the supplier industry.

Acting CEO Knut Thorvaldsen at Norwegian Oil and Gas is also not satisfied and believes that the government’s proposal does not secure jobs, especially for the supplier industry.

“The government has not considered proposals for measures to guarantee activity in the oil and gas industry,” Thorvaldsen said in a press release.

Thorvaldsen believes that the government’s proposal could cause the loss of tens of thousands of jobs and provide less income to the state in the coming years. The proposal will also lead to a weakening of projects and the development of technology that is important in working to achieve climate goals.

– It is now crucial that Storting improves the proposal so that we can really secure the activity and the jobs. We do not request tax deductions, but deferred taxes. This doesn’t cost society anything, but it will provide great benefits for years to come, Thorvaldsen says.