Norway and the United Kingdom discovered major petroleum resources in broadly the same North Sea geological system at roughly the same historical moment. Ekofisk, in the Norwegian sector, was discovered in 1969–70, while Forties, one of Britain's great early fields, followed in 1970.
The circumstances appeared remarkably similar. Both were mature European democracies with strong institutions, access to international capital and technology, and the opportunity to transform a major offshore petroleum discovery into national prosperity.
Yet more than half a century later, their petroleum legacies look very different.
Norway possesses one of the world's largest sovereign investment funds. At the end of 2025, its Government Pension Fund Global was worth about NOK21.3 trillion. Britain, meanwhile, earned enormous revenues from North Sea petroleum, benefited from improved energy security and developed a formidable offshore industry. But it accumulated no comparable national petroleum fund.
