Iceland’s premier, Olafur Grimsson, has indicated that the Reykjavik government will set up a wealth fund, anticipating a possible offshore oil and gas boom, now that the doorway to exploration is open.
The first licences were issued last month to Faroe Petroleum, plus Petoro and Valiant Petroleum.
Grimsson told reporters in London that oil and gas regulation will reflect existing geothermal resource exploitation laws but warned too that it could be years before the offshore hunt might realise any meaningful economic benefit to Iceland.