History of the petroleum industry in Norway

In March 1965, the boundaries of oil exploration were divided along the median line across the North Sea.

In April 1965 Norway opened the first round of exploration drilling licences, with 22 in 78 areas.

Esso began drilling on 17 November 1969 with the Ocean Viking platform, and discovered a large oil field on 24 December 1969 in the Chalk Group Unit 6, of Danian geological age; the well, 2/4-2, was the 34th oil well explored in the Norwegian sector of the North Sea; by this time over 200 exploration oil wells had been drilled in the North Sea.

The discovery of oil in December 1969[1] was featured in an eight-part 2018 docudrama television series on NRK entitled Lykkeland.

A pipeline was laid across the North Sea southwards to Germany; divers working on the pipe would need up to 70 days of decompression, and suffered permanent physical injury.