All You Need to Know about the Oil Museum in Stavanger
On my visit to Stavanger in September 2020, we were stuck looking for places to visit. I am a huge Norwegian history geek, so I was hoping to see the Canning Museum and the Archaeological Museum, but both were closed due to the corona virus. To top things off, we were in Stavanger on my 30th birthday. In a bid to find something to do (and get relief from the cold weather), we went to the oil museum in Stavanger. I never thought I’d turn 30 in an oil museum, but here we are!
Honestly, the oil museum in Stavanger is a fascinating look into Norway’s petroleum industry. My husband went on about how he felt like he was back in high school (they were taught a lot about the oil industry in Norwegian schools). I learned some things I never new about oil, so it felt worth it.
In this article...
The oil industry
While the museum has a ton of information about the oil industry, I think it’s worth going in with a general understanding about Norway’s oil industry.
The oil industry is a big topic and hard to condense. When I’m doing tours around Norway, I give a topic about the good, bad and ugly of the oil industry. I’m working on adjusting that into a blog post.
In the meantime, you can read about the oil industry on the Norwegian government website (it’s in English). Click here.
The oil museum in Stavanger
The Oil Museum (Oljemuseet) shows how oil, particularly offshore operations, is Norway’s most important industry. The exhibitions present historical developments in the oil industry. It starts with the exploration in the North Sea and the construction of steel and concrete platforms. It goes right up to modern production ships and subsea systems. Then, the exhibitions look to the future of the oil industry.
Moreover, the museum is stunning to look at. It’s probably unsurprising that it is designed by an architectural firm, and part of the museum looks like an oil platform when viewed from the outside. The building is a landmark in the Port of Stavanger.
The Oil Museum opened on the 20th of May 1999 by King Harald V. Currently, it is the most visited museum in Stavanger.
The museum is a stop on my self-guided walking tour of Stavanger:
Exhibitions
The exhibitions include technological advances and how oil revenue has affected Norwegian society. Climate change is a focal point, especially issues with greenhouse gas emissions and global warming. Original objects, models, films, and interactive exhibits convey the history of oil operations on the Norwegian continental shelf. Information boards explain what it’s like to work offshore and underwater.
For kids, they can slide down a real rescue chute and play on a miniature oil platform. There are tons of interactive exhibits for them to try.
The museum is spread out over two floors. You enter on the lower floor.
Lower floor exhibitions
When you first enter the museum, there’s an extensive timeline. It outlines the development of the oil industry in Norway, from the first exploration to the present day. Since we are in Stavanger, there’s a focus on how the town changed with the discovery of oil. It’s a fascinating timeline with plenty of documents, images and text. You could spend 20 minutes or one hour reading the timeline.
Short film
The staff will likely recommend that you watch the short film first. It’s a fictional film and not a documentary, so it’s going to be quite different from the types of museum films you expect. Starring famous Norwegian actor Kristoffer Joner, the film explores a man reflecting on his childhood in Stavanger during the oil boom. His father worked on the rigs, and Joner’s character is bitter towards the oil industry. After all, it took away time with his father. The story is a little out there, but the footage of Stavanger in the 1970s is very interesting. I especially liked how it showed the American influence on Stavanger, with all the bars and cars.
Future of the oil industry
Lastly, on the lower floor, there’s an exhibition about the future of the Norwegian oil industry. Before you go into the exhibit, you’ll see a row of various drilling bits. They kind of remind me of the creatures from horror and sci fi movies!
The exhibition explains how the oil is state-owned, with the profits being invested abroad. There’s a counter with the current value of the Norwegian oil fund and the current price of oil:
What’s great about this exhibition is that it has a balanced opinion. The exhibition shows the protests and newspaper articles in Norway that has had a negative opinion about the oil industry. At the same time, the exhibition shows where they plan to drill for oil in the future, namely in the Arctic. This is a very heated debate at the moment in Norway.
Moreover, the exhibition also explains what exactly the oil and gas is used for. Norwegian gas supplies 25% of gas to Europe and the UK. Also, Norway doesn’t use its own oil! A downstairs exhibit explains how the steel pipelines are placed on the seabed, linking the Norwegian continental shelf to Norway, Germany, France, Belgium and the UK.
The upper floor
You enter the oil platform recreation once upstairs. It’s a really cool place to walk around, and we had fun messing about in the control room section. All the equipment is authentic and interesting to look at. However, I know so little about the oil platforms that it all looked so foreign. The upstairs exhibitions explain how they search for oil and how the drills work in the ground. From the upstairs platform, you can go outside and slide down a net. We did not as the net looked like it may break one of our bones. There’s also lovely views of Stavanger from the outside!
An upstairs exhibition focuses on the impact of climate change around the world. It focuses on Norway’s role in combating climate change. Displays explain protests in Norway against oil, overpopulation, and the government’s decisions. It’s a mixed view, though it may lean towards painting Norway in a positive light. Other topics are changes in the free marked, international collaboration, and technological changes. You can read about the exhibition on their website.
The last upstairs exhibition is about the North Sea, focusing on how they work out there. There’s a film showing a British man connecting pipes underwater that is interesting to watch. I was fascinated by the fact they have to spend a good portion isolated as they readjust to the pressure above the sea. You can try on the helmets they wear underwater too.
Practical Information
Languages
The signboards are in English and Norwegian. They have brochures available in more languages like German, Russian and French.
Restaurant
Attached to the museum is the Bølgen and Moi Restaurant with lunch and dinner. It has a small but excellent menu plus an extensive drinks range. We had a burger split between the two of us (they even cut the burger in half!) and a local apple juice plus a coffee. It was really good and just what we needed.
Souvenir Shop
The souvenir shop has a lot of science toys, including experiment kits, slinkies, goo, and so on. If you’ve been to a science museum and seen the kids’ section of the souvenir shop, it’s very similar. There are some t-shirts and caps with the museum logo, and a small collection of books (most are in Norwegian. There’s also some jewellery, if that’s your thing. We bought a magnet from the museum, as we do everywhere.
Guided Tours
The museum does offer guided tours in Norwegian, English and German. However, these are not regularly scheduled and most be booked in advanced. They are generally for large tour groups and not couples or individual travellers. That’s a shame because they offer oil tasting at the restaurant, which would be cool to experience.
