RSS feed from Icelandreview.com
Icelandreview.com on your mobile (Nokia)
Watch an audio slideshow of how traditional Icelandic rhubarb stew is made. Rhubarb is one of the few vegetables that grows effortlessly in Iceland and for that reason it used to be a highly-valued addition to the traditional diet of fish and lamb.
more
Three Icelandic companies have been founded specifically for oil exploration in the so-called Dragon Zone, off Iceland’s northeastern coast between Iceland and Jan Mayen, Norway, and have applied for permits at the National Energy Authority to that effect.
A gas station in Iceland. Archive photo by Páll Kjartansson.
At 4 pm yesterday the National Energy Authority was closed for further applications for oil exploration in the area, visir.is reports.
Director of Energy Guðni A. Jóhannesson declared this to be a very satisfying outcome. “And it exceeds our brightest hopes,” he said, adding that the companies in question are backed by parties that are experienced in oil exploration in the region.
The three companies that have applied are Valiant Petroleum and Kolvetni, Faroe Petroleum and Íslenskt kolvetni and Eykon Energy.
Kolvetni is owned by Jón Helgi Guðmundsson, the majority owner of the hardware chain store Byko, and his business partner Gunnlaugur Jónsson, who hold a combined 50 percent share, the engineering firm Mannvit, which has a 25 percent share, and Norwegian businessman Terje Hagevang, who holds the remaining 25 percent, according to ruv.is.
Hagevang is CEO of British oil company Valiant and used to run Sagex, a Norwegian company, which made tenders for oil exploration in the Dragon Zone in 2009. Jón Helgi and Gunnlaugur both have shares in Valiant.
Íslenskt kolvetni is owned by the engineering firm Verkís, Icelandic oil company Olís and the company Dreki Holding.
A group of investors are behind Eykon Energy: chairman Heiðar Már Guðjónsson, Ragnar Þórisson, Jón Einar Eyjólfsson and the aforementioned Gunnlaugur Jónsson and Terje Hagevang.
Minister of Finance and Industry Oddný Harðardóttir was present when the applicants were revealed at the National Energy Authority yesterday.
She stated that the most optimistic forecasts believe that oil exploration will start to deliver extensive income for the state treasury after ten years, visir.is reports.
The National Energy Authority will now review the applications and allocate research and production permits no later than at the end of November, 2012.
Click here to read more about the Dragon Zone.
ESA
The government of Jóhanna Sigurðardóttir will formally step down after a state council meeting with President of Iceland Ólafur Ragnar Grímsson at his residence Bessastaðir at 11 am today. At 3 pm, the new government of Sigmundur Davíð Gunnlaugsson will attend a state council meeting and afterwards formally take power.
more
Air traffic was grounded at Keflavík International Airport for up to two hours this morning due to a failure in the flight data system. Due to the delay, many passengers missed their connecting flights.
more
Prospective Prime Minister Sigmundur Davíð Gunnlaugsson, chair of the Progressive Party, and prospective Minister of Finance and Economic Affairs Bjarni Benediktsson, chair of the Independence Party, presented their government agreement at a press conference in the old district school at Laugarvatn in South Iceland today.
more
On the way back to Reykjavík following this morning's news conference, at which the new government agreement was formally presented, the next Prime Minister of Iceland, Sigmundur Davíð Gunnlaugsson, and his assistant, Jóhannes Þór Skúlason, who was driving, were stopped for speeding.
more
The 2013 April-May issue of Iceland Review & Atlantica has been released. Packed with informative and entertaining stories, highlights include an interview with outgoing Prime Minister Jóhanna Sigurðardóttir and the people who know her best, a photo essay of ice caves in Europe’s largest glacier and a colorful feature on life in the West Fjords.
more
REVIEWS
The 11th Reykjavík Shorts & Docs. Catch it while it lasts!
more
Artist couple Nína Ivanova and Ómar Smári Kristinsson explain why they decided to settle in the West Fjords’ capital.
Reykjavík Queer Choir’s annual spring concert takes place on Friday, May 24.
){kind=link}