OSLO: Norway's government is due to announce on Friday new plans for oil and gas activities in Arctic regions, seeking to balance environmental concerns and demands from the oil industry which funds its welfare state.
Labour Prime Minister Jens Stoltenberg and his coalition partners from the Socialist Left and the Centre Party have called a news conference for 1100 GMT to discuss an "update" to management plans for the potentially oil-rich Arctic waters.
The news conference comes on the heels of media reports that the cabinet has delayed a decision on oil drilling in cod-rich waters off the Lofoten archipelago until at least 2013, but that it may open more of the Barents Sea.
Drilling in the waters around Lofoten and neighbouring Vesteraalen islands was by far the most contentious issue for Stoltenberg's government.
It is not yet clear what parts of the Barents Sea could be opened for activities. Norway and Russia struck a deal in 2010 to delineate their disputed Barents border.
The oil industry has been demanding access to new areas off Norway, the world's No. 5 oil exporter whose output has fallen by a third in the past decade.
Environmentalists, flanked by a number of political parties including the Socialist Left and the Centre Party, have focused their efforts on blocking attempts to open the Lofoten region.
"This is a great victory for fish, for the environmental movement and all the expert groups that have strongly warned against oil drilling in the area," said Frederic Hauge, leader of environmental organisation Bellona, told TV2.
Two coalition partners, the Socialist Left and Centre parties, have vowed to protect Lofoten environment from drillers while Labour has been seen as more supportive of the oil industry, led by national energy champion Statoil.
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