Like the rest of Europe, from 2021 to present, Norway has seen a shift from record-high financing activity to a high-inflation environment with rising interest rates. In 2023, there was less activity in the Norwegian debt capital markets, largely due to uncertainties on a macro level and the geopolitical situation. In particular, the energy crisis was the focal point of investors and banks alike. This facilitated a slight shift from the ESG-driven deals pursued in 2021 and early 2022, to some investors and banks reconsidering their exit from the oil and oil services industry, with some even re-entering that market after having divested some years prior. Whilst banks have remained relatively cautious in the last 12 months, there has been a rise in activity towards the end of the second quarter of 2023. Despite this, lending into the commercial real estate sector has remained particularly modest and is expected to remain so in the months to come. On the regulatory side, Norway continues to adopt EU financial regulations but is still lagging behind on a number of key pieces of legislation, such the securitisation regulation and PRIIPs.

The scarcity of energy in Europe has resulted in growing appetite for financing offshore and oil services (after several years of banks exiting the sectors), both in Norway and in Europe generally. European banks and investors have started lending to the sector again in the name of energy security. Driven to some extent by the same concern, but also continuing an existing trend, financing of LNG and renewable energy has also attracted lenders and investors.

The Nordic high-yield market has been flavoured by the same trends seen in other capital markets with strong focus on inflation risk, increased interest rates, recession risk and higher energy prices. This has affected certain sectors more than others. Commercial real estate is the single largest issuing sector in the Nordic high-yield market. However, higher interest rates have led to asset depreciation and increased funding costs for levered real estate issuers, which in turn has led to a downward spiral of rating downgrades, distressed bond prices and increased default expectations for former household names. Significant amounts are due in the short to medium term, with refinancings for many seeming increasingly difficult.

On the other side of the scale, and once a dominating sector, the market for oil services bonds has seen a new spring this year. Following almost a decade out of favour, secured bonds for drillers and bonds for other subsegments within oil services are now attracting global investor demand at meaningful terms for issuers and investors. Driven by higher oil prices and industry fundamentals with energy security in focus, this is expected to continue if the current market prevails. The high-yield bond market has been an appreciated source of capital for these issuers, especially as the appetite in the conventional bank market has been muted for most.

In general, the issue volume in the Nordic high-yield market as of Q1 of 2023 is on par with full year 2022, which was a rather muted year.

Direct lending is on the rise in Norway. There is naturally limited transparency on statistics within this market in Norway, but based on the authors’ observations from transactions, there seems to be substantial growth, which is expected to continue in the years to come. This is both on a bond format through the templates of the Nordic Trustee and on a more direct and bilateral basis. The format depends both on investor or lender preference and Norwegian regulatory issues, which restrict lending from non-regulated entities (with exceptions as described below).

Historically, much of the high-volume leveraged or non-investment grade lending in the Norwegian market has been made within capital intensive, asset-backed industry sectors such as shipping and offshore services. Such lending has entailed the financing of expensive assets, which require a capital efficient structure. An early way of raising capital for financing such assets was by way of a two-tiered capital structure, with a first lien bank tranche and a second lien bond tranche in relation to the same asset. A more common structure in recent years has been based on the LMA standard super senior bank or senior secured bond, where in some instances there has also been a senior bank tranche ranking pari passu with the bond tranche. Preferred equity is used extensively, particularly in private equity transactions or in connection with more structured credit. For example, this can be used where several investors are participating in a project but one of the creditors has a regulatory requirement to structure its investment differently from the others. In work-out situations or outright restructurings, issuance of new subordinated capital has often been used instead of equity instruments in order to create a layered capital structure. This may include zero coupon bonds with interest payments akin to that of dividend distributions. Hybrid debt instruments with perpetual tenor have also been used in some instances, to create debt instruments which, for accounting purposes, can count as equity in the balance sheet.   

The green and sustainability-linked loan market in Norway has seen a significant boost over the last five years, with around 30% of corporate loans documented by BAHR implementing a sustainability-link mechanism. Both borrowers and lenders are keen on products that reflect their ESG endeavours and it seems there is consensus that a sustainability-linked loan is not about the financial gain so much as it is a licence to operate. The Norwegian legal market closely follows the development in England and in Europe as regards format, with Norwegian banks adopting the sustainability-link rider wording developed by the LMA. Norwegian banks are also developing their own frameworks based on LMA principles, such as green loans where a certain percentage of revenue stems from a “green” activity, service or product. Examples include real estate and aquaculture. 

The provision of financing (including loans and guarantees) is a regulated activity in Norway, and lenders looking to provide financing to Norwegian companies will, as a starting point, need to be licensed or passported as either an EEA-based credit institution under Directive 2013/36/EU (CRD IV) or a European long-term investment fund under Regulation (EU) 2015/760 (ELTIF). However, loans provided entirely on a Norwegian borrower’s initiative, without the relevant lender having marketed or recommended the loan to the borrower prior to the borrower’s decision to initiate the transaction, may constitute reverse solicitation and not trigger licensing requirements in Norway. This is pursuant to the practice and guidelines from the Norwegian regulator. The scope of the reverse solicitation exemption would be subject to a case-by-case analysis.

Other than the licensing requirements mentioned in 2.1 Providing Financing to a Company, there are no particular restrictions on foreign lenders as opposed to domestic lenders.

Without prejudice to the licensing requirements for lending activities, there are no restrictions preventing foreign lenders from receiving security or guarantees.

Under Norwegian law, there are no foreign currency exchange controls or limits, and there are no restrictions regarding payments or repayments to or from a Norwegian borrower in a foreign currency.

In general, there are no restrictions on a borrower’s use of proceeds from loans or debt securities under Norwegian law. See however 5.4 Restrictions on the Target regarding the limitations applicable to a Norwegian target company, which relate to supporting an acquirer of a Norwegian target company when it comes to acquisition financing for the purchase of the shares in the Norwegian target company. The same limitations will apply for example with respect to a Norwegian target company obtaining a loan and on-lending these funds to the acquiring entity for the purpose of the acquiring entity paying down its acquisition debt (debt pushdown exercises). 

Norwegian law does not have the concept of “trust” as known in common law or English law, but Norwegian law has a well-established agency concept whereby one entity holds a security interest on behalf of itself and others. With respect to secured financings governed by Norwegian law, a security agent will be appointed by the finance parties to hold the transaction security on their behalf.

Loan agreements governed by Norwegian law generally contain LMA-style provisions facilitating transfers of debt, whereby the transferor agrees to transfer, and the transferee agrees to assume, the debt participation of the transferor. Syndicate lenders usually appoint a security agent to hold and administer the security on their behalf. New lenders will therefore not be required to take any additional steps to obtain the benefit of the associated security. Also, under Norwegian law, the default rule is that the security interest will follow the secured debt, without any further requirements to ensure the continuing effectiveness of the security. This means for example that a syndicate member may sell or otherwise transfer its holding in a syndicated loan, without having to take any further action or formality in order to make sure that transferred loan will retain its benefit from the security interest. 

Loan agreements may contain provisions which restrict debt buy-back, but in the absence of regulation there are no general restrictions preventing debt buy-back transactions. General equal treatment provisions may be applicable if the debt buy-back relates to traded debt securities.

In private acquisitions, and in voluntary public offers on the Oslo Stock Exchange, it is customary to use the “certain funds” provisions, inspired by the UK Takeover Code, included in an LMA-based facilities agreement. This is in order to provide the seller with the necessary comfort in relation to funds being available to settle the purchase price on closing. In public takeover situations, where a mandatory offer is made on a company listed on the Oslo Stock Exchange, the offeror will need to evidence that a bank or financial institution, which has permission to provide financial services in Norway, has guaranteed settlement of the purchase price.

A new act regarding financial agreements entered into force in Norway on 1 January 2023, bringing with it certain changes as regards waiver of defences language in Norwegian guarantee and security documents. Logical changes have therefore been introduced to protect the robustness of guarantees and security granted by guarantors and third parties, although it could be argued that the practical effect is negligible.

The unwinding of LIBOR as reference rate has naturally also required changes across the full suite of existing loan transactions under Norwegian law, where the LMA-based wording regarding SOFR and other RFRs has become the market standard.

Norway has rules whereby loan terms which are unreasonable as compared to the service provided can be void and not binding on the borrower. However, the rule has had a limited application in practice, and it would normally not come into play in agreements with a professional credit provider. The agreement is generally meant as a safety net and follows from the general contractual principles of Norwegian law relating to non-enforceability of unreasonable contract terms. Applicability of this rule is determined on a case-by-case basis, and there is, for example, no specific interest rate which is the maximum permitted rate under law. Based on comments from credit card providers to the preparatory works and responses from the ministry, the rule would, however, prevent the credit card provider from unreasonably increasing the interest rate towards customers (who already pay a high interest rate on credit card debt) if the credit card provider knows the customer has no alternative ways to refinance the credit card debt.

For companies with financial instruments admitted to trading on Oslo Børs, Euronext Expand and Euronext Growth, financial contracts must be publicly disclosed if they constitute inside information pursuant to the EU Market Abuse Regulation. Furthermore, companies with financial instruments admitted to trading on Oslo Børs and Euronext Expand must publicly disclose the issuance of new loans, including any related guarantees or collateral, pursuant to the rules of the Oslo Stock Exchange, regardless of whether this constitutes inside information.

With effect from 1 July 2021 payments from a Norwegian borrower are subject to withholding taxes on payments of interest under loans between certain related parties located in low tax jurisdictions. The purpose of the rule is to prevent profit shifting out of Norway which erodes the basis for the Norwegian tax regime. The withholding tax on interest does not apply to interest payments to non-related lenders, however. Please note that the withholding also applies to some lease payments (thereby ensuring that for capital assets, it is not possible to circumvent the rules by leasing the asset into Norway from a low tax jurisdiction).

In general, Norway is a creditor-friendly jurisdiction when it comes to costs. The withholding tax legislation would not apply to ordinary, third-party lenders and the costs of obtaining security in Norway are limited to nominal registration fees. There are no stamp fees or duties for lenders which are calculated based on the loan amount or the value of the underlying asset. 

Such concerns are not relevant in Norway, as the tax rules and withholding tax issues are minimal (as above). Further, FATCA issues are solved by way of information exchange agreements between Norwegian and US authorities. Please note, however, the strict regulatory requirement for lending into Norway, which also limits the role of smaller banks in the Norwegian market (since these banks can at the outset not provide financing into Norway, unless an exception from the licensing requirements can be relied upon). 

A security package typically consists of:

• a mortgage over any real registered asset being financed, such as real estate, ship, rig, aircraft;
• floating charges over trade receivables, inventory and operating assets;
• a charge over shares in obligors or other relevant companies;
• assignments of insurances and earnings; or
• charge over bank accounts.

The costs of registering security in Norwegian registries are nominal.

Registrable assets are charged by way of a mortgage form, which is registered against the asset in the relevant registry, such as a vessel registered in the Norwegian international ship registry.

Floating charges regarding trade receivables, inventory and operating assets are established by executing a designated charge form which will then need to be registered against the relevant company in the Norwegian Registry of Movable Property. Registration normally takes one to two weeks.

Charges over shares are established by written agreement between the security agent and the shareholder, and (for a private limited company) perfection is established through notice to that company. An updated shareholder registry evidencing the share charge is normally delivered to evidence the share charge and the priority.

Assignments of earnings and receivables, such as insurance proceeds, are created by written agreement where the act of perfection is notice to debtor.

All-asset floating charges are not permitted under Norwegian law. A similar effect can be achieved, however, through the establishment of asset-specific floating charges over inventory, machinery and receivables, combined with fixed charges over shares, monetary claims and more.

A Norwegian company may guarantee the debt of its shareholder or another company in the same group of companies as the Norwegian company, provided that the guarantee economically benefits at least one company within its corporate group. This practical exception means that guarantees are common in Norwegian law financings. However, each Norwegian company, in practice through its board of directors, has an obligation to act in the best interests of the company and ensure there is sufficient corporate benefit.

A Norwegian target company (and its subsidiaries) may grant security and give a guarantee for the acquisition debt if the company acquiring the shares (buyer) is incorporated in an EEA jurisdiction and will control the target company following the acquisition. A certain whitewash procedure must be complied with prior to the security and/or guarantee being granted, which consists of (among other things) (i) the board of directors of the target considering the creditworthiness of the beneficiary, (ii) approval by the board, (iii) a declaration by the board that it will be in the interest of the company to grant the security and guarantee and (iv) approval by the shareholders of the target (usually by way of shareholder meeting). The package of documents must be filed with the Norwegian Registry of Business Enterprises before the security and guarantee may be granted.

The relevant company will also, in line with granting guarantees and security generally, assess corporate benefit based on the specific facts and situation.

A resolution of the board of directors of the relevant company is normally the only consent required to approve a company’s granting of security or guarantees. Shareholder resolutions may be required if provided for in the company’s articles of association. There are only nominal registration fees for registering security.

Registrable security (such as a mortgage over a vessel and registrable security with the Norwegian Registry of Movable Property) is released through the mortgagee or chargee submitting the original charge form, endorsed with “for deletion” and signed by an authorised signatory of the existing beneficiary (alternatively under a power of attorney). For security perfected through notice to a third party (eg, account banks, debtors and insurance agents etc), the security is released by sending a notice of release or discharge to such third party.

The starting point for priority is that a charge receives priority from the time it obtains legal protection or perfection, so that of competing security is determined based on time of priority (“first in time, best in right”). However, there are significant exceptions. Preferential claims may also affect priority, although many preferential claims will apply only in the event of insolvency proceedings.

Subordination is a recognised concept under Norwegian law, both contractual and structural, and contractual subordination of claims between creditor groups is standard. The consequences of subordination are not clear cut in all cases, however. For instance, the release mechanism for subordinated claims that may typically be seen in standard LMA intercreditor agreements is untested under Norwegian law. It is believed that subordination under Norwegian law at least extends to turn-over provisions. Whilst in effect this will have the same end result, there is no mentioning of release in the preparatory works to the Norwegian insolvency legislation.

Equitable subordination does not have an equivalent under Norwegian law.

Under Norwegian law there are a limited number of security interests arising by operation of law which will prime a lender’s security interest. It is not normally possible to structure around such security interests, apart from the mitigating factors mentioned below.

The main priming lien is that the bankruptcy estate of a party (a “Bankrupt Party”), which has encumbered an asset as security for obligations owed, has a statutory lien over any such encumbered asset as well as over assets which a third party has encumbered, as security for the obligations of the Bankrupt Party. An exception applies for assets which are charged as security in accordance with the Norwegian Financial Collateral Act (which implements the Financial Collateral Directive). The statutory lien has priority over all other liens and security interests in the relevant asset, regardless of whether such other liens or security interests have been created voluntarily or involuntarily. However, it is limited to 5% of the value of sales proceeds up to a maximum amount equal to 700 times the court fee at any time (which at present means a maximum amount of NOK870,100) in respect of a mortgage of real property or vessels. Proceeds from the statutory lien (if any) received by the bankruptcy estate may only be applied towards its necessary expenses.

Also, pursuant to the Norwegian Reconstruction Act, a company undergoing reconstruction pursuant to that Act may raise financing for its operations during the reconstruction phase (including for costs related to the reconstruction). Such financing and costs related to the reconstruction will enjoy a statutory lien over the assets of the company undergoing reconstruction and the rules, as set out above in respect of statutory liens for bankruptcy estates, will otherwise be applicable. Assets secured pursuant to the Financial Collateral Act are excluded, however. In addition, the financing and costs related to the reconstruction may be granted a lien over machinery and plant (driftstilbehør), inventory (varelager) and trade receivables (utestående fordringer) of the company with priority over all other liens or security interests in the relevant asset. The debtor must prove that such secured loan is needed, and security may only be granted with the consent of the restructuring committee. Affected holders of security rights may petition the court for the reconstruction committee’s consent to be reversed. The court may reverse the consent if the position of the existing security rights is significantly impaired, or if the court finds that there is not a sufficient need for the loan.

Finally, maritime liens will also prime a mortgage over a vessel. Maritime liens will be statutorily preferred, even if the obligation giving rise to the maritime lien arose after perfection of the vessel mortgage.

The enforcement route under Norwegian law varies based on the asset type.

The Enforcement Act sets out the mandatory provisions for the individual enforcement of security interests over assets such as real estate, vessels, aircrafts and operating assets. Agreements made pre-enforcement, which stipulate alternative enforcement procedures are prohibited, including private repossession or any kind of self-help remedy. However, following an enforcement situation, the security agent and the security provider may agree on alternative enforcement procedures. The main enforcement measures are forced sale through a third party appointed by the court or by public auction.

In order to enforce a claim, the claimant must have sufficient legal grounds for enforcement and perfected (registered) security would in practice constitute grounds for enforcement. In addition, the following must be satisfied: (i) the relevant claim must be due, payable and in default, (ii) the claimant must be entitled to file the petition for enforcement and the claim must be directed at the security provider, and (iii) in relation to perfected security, a written notice must have been served on the security provider two weeks prior to filing a petition for enforcement.

The provisions of the Enforcement Act do not apply in relation to security established pursuant to the Financial Collateral Act (including shares, certain other financial instruments and bank deposits) or security over monetary claims, and instead those security interests may be enforced by self-appropriation and other alternative enforcement procedures agreed between the parties in the relevant security document.

A Norwegian company may enter into contracts governed by foreign law, and subject to foreign jurisdiction, with the exception that it will usually not be able to circumvent statutory provisions of Norwegian law by choosing foreign law as the governing law.

The courts of Norway will enforce final and conclusive judgments of states party to the Lugano Convention of 2007 and/or obtained in any UK jurisdiction (subject to the terms of the convention of 12 June 1961 between the United Kingdom and Norway providing for the reciprocal recognition and enforcement of judgments in civil matters). A judgment of a foreign court or tribunal of a state not party to the Lugano Convention can be directly enforceable in Norway subject to fulfilling certain requirements.

Lending is a strictly regulated activity in Norway. Violations would, however, be met with penalties and an administrative order to cease and discontinue the illegal activity. As such, there are no limitations applicable to a foreign lender’s ability to enforce its rights under a loan or a security agreement, and even if the loan was granted in breach of Norwegian financial activity rules, the loan agreement and appurtenant security agreements would not on this basis alone be rendered void and unenforceable. 

The rights of a secured creditor must be respected in both individual and joint enforcement, however bankruptcy proceedings will generally limit the secured party’s participation in the joint proceedings, as they will be led by a liquidator appointed by the court. An automatic stay of up to six months may apply before the security is enforced on an individual basis. Exceptions apply, however, including in respect of security granted under the Financial Collateral Act as described above.

The rules for payment of dividends to (unsecured) creditors in an insolvency are complex and follow from mandatory provisions of law. Generally, the waterfall can be described as follows:

• costs incurred as a result of the bankruptcy or by the bankruptcy estate during the insolvency proceedings;
• various salary claims incurred prior to opening of bankruptcy;
• taxes, VAT, etc; and
• various subordinated claims (and agreed subordinated claims).

Secured creditors are allowed to claim as unsecured creditors for the part of their initially secured claim which was not covered by enforcement of the security.

This will vary depending on the complexity of the bankruptcy estate. As a general rule, all assets which are secured in favour of lenders will usually be released by the bankruptcy estate and made available to the secured creditors quickly after opening of bankruptcy.

A company that has or will have in the foreseeable future, serious financial difficulties may file for reconstruction under the Reconstruction Act. The Reconstruction Act introduces a more flexible legal framework for continued business operations in close co-operation with the creditors.

Debt negotiations can be entered into by the debtor without involving the courts. Unless a secured creditor has expressly agreed not to enforce or take ownership of the collateral, the secured creditor is not affected by these negotiations. Court-administered debt negotiation proceedings can only be initiated by a willing debtor. This debtor must demonstrate that they are unable to meet their payment obligations as they fall due and that it is not unlikely that the debtor will obtain a composition with their creditors.

There is a clear distinction under Norwegian law between secured and unsecured creditors. A secured creditor would normally get access to its security asset from the bankruptcy estate manager quickly during the bankruptcy process. There is a good chance of recovery for a secured creditor if the value of the assets has upheld well, taking into account that there usually would be some costs incurred in connection with realising the security asset. Unsecured creditors would be paid out after creditors which are mandatorily preferred by law, and the chances of recovery are usually very low. A typical payment to an unsecured creditor would normally be a small percentage of the face value of the claim. On this basis, typically unsecured creditors try to negotiate with a borrower in financial difficulty a solution whereby they can obtain security for their claim. As secured creditors have a much better standing in the bankruptcy, such transactions where new security is granted for old debt are susceptible to be set aside by the bankruptcy estate if they have been undertaken within a certain time frame before bankruptcy was opened. 

Project financing in Norway has been used extensively in asset-based financings, such as within real estate or shipping and offshore. It has, to a certain extent, also been used for financing other types of projects with an agreed cashflow, such as renewable energy projects (particularly related to onshore wind projects) and to some extent public communication and infrastructure through public-private partnership transactions. During 2023, there has been an ongoing auction process for Norway’s two first offshore wind areas (with more acreage expected to come up for auction in 2025). It is assumed that project financing will be an important part of developing offshore wind into a new source of renewable energy in Norway. 

Public-private partnerships (PPP) have been used to some extent in Norway, although somewhat on and off, which is mostly due to different governments having diverging political opinions on the benefit of using private capital to deliver public services. For many years, PPPs have been used to finance various selected construction projects for new roads and bridges in particular. Although the trend is increasing, the pace has been somewhat slower than in other jurisdictions where this has been a more sought-after source of financing. In Norway, the object of a PPP has often been more to see if a private solution could reduce costs of construction as compared to a fully governmentally managed project, as opposed to providing access to financing. Under the current political landscape there is also a trend towards a decreased level of private services, for example in relation to healthcare and nursery homes. Although not strictly a PPP, there was a trend for some years whereby public authorities and municipalities sold public infrastructure and buildings to private investors, which either leased the assets back or sold the relevant service back to the vendor. Although now in reverse, the authors believe that this trend may come back at some point in time.

There are a variety of public regulations and requirements associated with governmental activity in Norway, so any significant transaction with any governmental authority or a company which is wholly owned by such needs to be carefully assessed. Any breach of, for example public procurement legislation, may be challenged by competing interests.

In relation to the new offshore wind projects, the Norwegian ministry responsible for granting offshore wind licences is considering imposing a condition that the licensed offshore wind activities must be governed by Norwegian law contracts. There is no direct suggestion that such requirement would extend to the financing of the relevant project, but the authors cannot exclude the possibility that the government also takes into account the governing law of the proposed financings when granting licences (scheduled for early 2024). 

At the outset, there are no foreign ownership restrictions on real estate, provided that there are no implications with regard to sanctions, or the ownership is not related to certain regulated industries, which are regarded as critical to Norwegian natural resources (or strategic interests). This could, for example, relate to ownership of real property over land-based seafood, which requires a concession from the authorities. Please also note that there are ownership restriction rules applicable (both to Norwegian and non-Norwegian owners) in certain other industries related to resources of the ground or from the seabed, such as for hydropower plants. As a general rule, however, obtaining security would require a licence from the relevant authorities upfront. Whilst a security interest would not automatically be set aside, the relevant requirements would have to be taken into account when enforcing the relevant security.

A significant factor in structuring a project financing is determining the legal form of the project company, taking into consideration liability and tax effects, based on Norwegian company-related legislation. An SPV in a project financing, which will incur significant investments prior to becoming cash flow positive, will often be incorporated as an unlimited partnership (Delt Ansvar or “DA”). When an SPV with unlimited partnership generates taxable income, it will not be taxed at the SPV level, but rather flow up to each respective partner based on its ownership share. Each partner will in turn often be incorporated as a limited liability company and can take advantage of group contributions to offset tax income or losses in other parts of the Norwegian tax group. Through this structure and generally speaking, partners with taxable income in Norway can benefit from the tax losses in the SPV’s early phase to offset such taxable income in other parts of the group. The parties would also need to consider each partner’s recourse to other assets to mitigate the unlimited nature of the SPV’s liability.

Also, for any project financings which involve the acquisition of a Norwegian limited liability company, please refer to 5.4 Restrictions on the Target setting out the Norwegian financial assistance rules, which are quite strict. As outlined there, in order to be able to benefit from the relevant “whitewash” exceptions and thereby be allowed to obtain guarantees and transaction security from a Norwegian target company, the acquiring entity must be incorporated within the EEA.

Bank financing remains, in the authors’ view, clearly the largest source of project financing in Norway for all construction projects. To some extent, export credit financing providers are also seen being included in these structures. For project financing within the real estate sector, bond financings have also been extensively used, particularly for projects which are out of the construction phase and more into the operations phase (and further development alongside normal operations). Particularly within the real estate sector, but also in some more aggressive corporate refinancings, a more extensive layering of debt sources, with up to three layers of debt, has been seen. A typical example could be super senior bank, senior bond and junior bond. 

The most notable requirement in relation to natural resource project developments in Norway is that of public ownership, which entails a requirement for two-thirds public ownership in certain hydropower projects. Moreover, any change of ownership requires governmental approval in other contexts, such as in connection under the Norwegian Petroleum Act and the Marine Energy Act. There is no direct Norwegian ownership requirement on fish farming, but a resource rent tax has been imposed on sea-based fish farming (although not land-based fish farms). There are also resource rent taxes on upstream petroleum activities as well as hydropower plants. The resource rent is calculated on a spot price basis, which means that price protection contracts need to be adjusted to reflect the size of the tax in order to be effective. Finally, and on a general basis, all licence-based operations and businesses will need to comply with the conditions on which the licence is granted, including as regards duration and degree of utilisation.

Under the Norwegian Transparency Act of 2021, companies are required to carry out due diligence (aktsomhetsvurderinger) on fundamental human rights and decent working conditions in line with the OECD Guidelines for Multinational Enterprises, and they must report on their efforts annually. Also, the labour market in Norway is strictly regulated and all project companies must adhere to detailed rules with regard to salaries, working conditions, as well as general HSE requirements. Major breaches of relevant HSE requirements can be considered a criminal offence under Norwegian law, whereas less serious offences would typically be settled by fines and/or injunctions to correct the relevant breaches.