Helicopter traffic.

Living here on the coast of Norway I see and hear helicopters nearly every single day.

Not since 1978 have we had a disaster like the one that happened on Friday, when 13 people lost their lives! 

Newspapers, radio and TV have been covering the tragedy where a Super Puma EC225 crashed just outside Bergen, on it's way from the "Gullfaks B" platform.

The loss for family, friends and colleagues is devastating! 

For Statoil and other oil companies, safety has been, and will be, number one.

All helicopters of the same type are grounded until they have found answers to why this happened.

In 2015 there were more than 600.000 passengers travelling to and from platforms here in Norway.

The Heliport.

This is the place where there are people going to or from work at the offshore oil rigs.
A busy place, and sometimes people are stuck here for hours because of bad weather and no helicopters are up in the air.
Some families have their beloved ones out for weeks at a time, but then again they are back for weeks  too, so I guess it is a very special work situation, but most people get used to it.

ULLRIGG.

ULLRIGG, a drilling and well centre, is based at Ullandhaug.
They have advanced test facilities. 

And it is also part of the International Research Institute of Stavanger.

It is easy to spot when driving on the motorway near the tunnel on your way to the centre of town.

Stavanger is named the oil capital.

Today there are many people in the oil industry who have been made redundant over the last few months.
So that has had an effect both on house prices and the number of cars on the roads.
Many people who had well paid jobs, are now going for jobs that pay less, but are safer, such as jobs in the state or the council.
Lots of offices are empty, and available for renting at much cheaper prices.

The Heliport.

For years I have passed the heliport (next to the airport).
Last week I attended a guided tour.
There was a lot  of building activity going on inside  to make it better and more up to date.
So many people were waiting..... the weather was not good for using the helicopters that day!
Anyway, one thing that caught  my eye was when I saw all these SURVIVAL SUITS.
Many people have to wear them to and from work out on the oil rigs.
Here in Stavanger, which is named "the oil capital," there are
so many people involved in the oil business one way or another.

ONS started today!

Busy and hot inside the exhibition center.

Interesting and very very international.

Take a look at the link her:

http://www.ons.no

No, I did not try this simulator at the stand from Marine Technologies , (from Egersund)

I was told that many captains are working in this field.

An oil- rig on Gandsfjord.

It is probably in Stavanger for maintenance.

I wish I could give you lots of interesting info. about this. But I am afraid I can`t.

Well, one thing I know, it is our "leaning tower" on the right.

It also shows a helicopter landing pad, and I guess some of the installations has to do with oil drilling.

Click for more info.about the area, under the text, after labels.

Please click on the photo to enlarge it.

This is not a Norwegian attempt at building a copy of the Eiffel tower.

It is easy to spot while driving on the motorway ( E39) in to the city centre.

ULLRIGG is the name, it is a rig used for testing drilling technology and training.

I have never been invited to see inside, but if they do ever have an open day I will be there.

But now I know someone who is working there, so I suddenly got an interest for the company, and our city is also the "oil capital" of Norway.

Stavanger and the nearby areas have many oil related companies,

and it is also known as "the oil capital".

Many families have their work somehow related to the business.

This is actually the symbol/logo for the "Ekofisk" oil field, situated south in the north sea.

The company shown here, deals with supplying complete drilling systems to oil companies.

This division of the company manufactures CyberBase drilling cabins.

The huge cottage, owned by Statoil seen from the beach at Sola.

Early morning. To the right is part of the Oil Museum and in the background you see the bridge where cars and busses are on their way to and from Hundvaag, a nearby suburb of the city.