Oil drilling in Arctic: Norway dragged to court

Oslo

A GROUP of activists is trying to put a stop to Norway's Arctic oil exploration and forcing the country to defend itself in the first court case of its kind.

Greenpeace and a Norwegian group, Nature and Youth, say Norway's decision to award 10 Barents Sea exploration licences in 2016 to Statoil ASA, Lundin Petroleum AB, Chevron Corp and others, breaches the country's constitution. Drilling in these areas, which include new acreage bordering Russian waters, is incompatible with Norway's commitment to fight climate change under the 2015 Paris Agreement and poses a threat to the environment, the plaintiffs say.