Offshore Northern Seas (ONS) ended today, September 1, with a result above expectations. Trust was the theme of the event this year, opening space to discuss its importance to the workings of the global energy market..

Over 60,000 visitors were present, the complete programme had more than 1000 speakers addressing topics such as energy security, renewable energy, oil & gas, politics and the road towards net zero.

“We are proud and humble to be able to gather so many people again. This time around we have welcomed new industries, brand new companies in a way we have never seen before and it could not make me happier,” exclaims Leif Johan Sevland, CEO & President, ONS Foundation.

What makes ONS truly special is the unique mix of a very dynamic exhibition, the high-level ONS Conference, and the many venues with smaller conference sessions on energy & society, scale-ups, renewables and low carbon technology.

ONS Conference

His Royal Highness Crown Prince Haakon of Norway opened ONS 2022 and was followed by Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre who introduced the Ukranian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy live from Kyiv.

President Zelenskyy addressed the crowd with a passionate speech about the war with Russia and how this affects both the global and European energy security in a dramatic way.

Elon Musk was interviewed by moderator Xenia Wickett and discussed electrification, the continued need for hydrocarbons and the energy transition. 

“We are grateful some of the biggest name in the industry take their time to share insight, inspire us and propose new and actual solutions,” Sevland.

Net Zero Markets and Scale-ups

Net Zero Markets is one of our new arenas where wind, hydrogen, CCUS, solar and battery/energy storage got the main stage.The arena had close to 300 speakers on several stages and covered a broad range of topics highly relevant for the energy transition.

The brand-new Scale-Ups arena invited everyone to a beach themed stage and mingling area connecting scale-ups, corporate ventures, private equity companies, and everyone interested in scaling up new solutions in the energy industry. 16 “new” companies were chosen to be part of the Scale-ups exhibition, and the stage was filled with entrepreneur talks and exciting inspiration for scaling up in the energy industry.

Centre Court and Technical Sessions

Under the headline “energy & society” visitors were invited into the Centre Court arena in hall 9. The short and focused talks and panels explored everything from seabed minerals, to geopolitics, the talent war and energy transition.

Technical Sessions opened for applicants to 7 main challenges already in November and had a record number of 400 applications. The 7 topics had several smaller challenges, and in total the sessions explored 21 challenges exploring technical solutions to reduce emissions. Main focus was on oil and gas, but also the transfer of technology from petroleum to renewables and other In total the to the 7 topics and 21 challenges highlighted unique technology and innovative ideas to solve future challenges.

ONS Young

ONS Young was this year at a new venue and brought students, young professionals, future students and middle school students attended sessions and debates at three stages throughout the arena.

Among the speakers were Gina Gylver in Natur & Ungdom, Anja Bakken Riise in Fremtiden I våre hender, Anders Opedal, Equinor and scientist Jo Røislien.

ONS+

Every night during ONS bars and pavilions downtown have been opened for debates and live podcasts. ONS’ own arena Energy Square was fully packed several times during the week, both during the ONS Young event Monday night and during debates.

A total of 34 boats were moored in the Stavanger harbour during ONS and hosted debates and networking events.

The free concert Wednesday night with Highasakite and TØFL attracted both young and old, and filled up the square and far out along the harbour. At one point there was a total of more than 28 000 registered cell phones in the area.