Bloomberg: Norway Oil Services See Russia Sanctions Risking Arctic Push

Aker Solutions ASA (AKSO), the offshore engineering company controlled by billionaire Kjell Inge Roekke, could miss opportunities to expand into Russia’s Arctic region if Europe and the U.S. uphold sanctions on the country.

“If the political situation continues and the sanctions are long-term, they will mean lost market opportunities,” Chairman Oeyvind Eriksen said in Oslo yesterday. While the Fornebu, Norway-based company isn’t currently involved in any large projects in Russia, it’s “ready to consider” opportunities when the restrictions are lifted, he said.

Aker Solutions, which has experience of the Arctic through projects it’s worked on off northern Norway, is seeking to expand into new markets as the company splits to focus on its subsea and engineering businesses to cut costs and improve shareholder returns. The company’s owners, which include Roekke’s investment company Aker ASA (AKER) and the Norwegian state, approved the split at a meeting in Oslo yesterday.
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