Norway has sought to flex its military muscle around key oil and gas installations in the face of rising security tensions across the North Sea.
In a statement late Friday the Norwegian Armed Forces said that following the government’s decision to increase preparedness at oil and gas installations, the military has “increased their visibility and presence.”
It comes amid numerous sightings of unknown drones flying near platforms in the Danish and Norwegian sectors of the North Sea, and gas leaks from the Nord Stream 1 and 2 pipelines which Nato has labelled as suspected sabotage.
ConocoPhillips’ Norwegian arm also confirmed it had stepped up security following a sighting near its assets.
“We confirm having made drone observations and we cooperate with the authorities,” ConocoPhillips told Reuters, though it did not disclose further details.
The Norwegian Armed Forces said its units were present and would patrol on land, in the air, at sea, underwater, as well as “in the cyber domain.”
Alongside its statement, the army released pictures from some of its recent missions.
The Norwegian Navy is in dialogue with partners to coordinate security measures in “shared sea areas”, it said.
Several Norwegian Navy vessels have also deployed to support security on the Norwegian continental shelf.
At the same time, the air force will be conducting frequent and regular sorties with F-35 fighter jets, from an air base at Ørland and from its rapid reaction force at Evenes.
On Friday morning, the Air Force flew in Norwegian territory, including over Haltenbanken and towards the oil installations on the Draugen and Heidrun fields.
The military said it would not provide further details on what its preparedness measures, “as precise information about which measures have been implemented could weaken security.”
Meanwhile, Norway will also receive assistance from the UK, Germany and France to boost offshore security, Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Stoere said on Friday, though he repeated assertions there had been no direct threats made to offshore infrastructure.