Norway’s government is set to keep the waters offshore the Lofoten, Vesteraalen and Senja islands closed for oil activity for four more years after reaching a policy compromise over the weekend.

The ruling Conservatives and Progress Party yesterday agreed to welcome the Liberal Party into the coalition, and published a new policy platform to include some of the newcomer’s core policies.

“The government will not open for petroleum activity, or conduct an impact assessment based on the Petroleum Act, in the areas offshore Lofoten, Vesteraalen and Senja in the 2017 to 2021 period, and will not start petroleum activity near Jan Mayen island, the ice edge, Skagerrak or on the More blocks,” the three-party group said in a joint policy statement.

The decision was expected, because the Liberal Party has championed a permanent petroleum ban on these areas as its most high-profile environment issue for many years.

Both the Conservatives and the Progress Party favour an opening of the Lofoten blocks, as does the opposition Labour Party. Since 2001, however, various minority governments have accepted to keep the areas closed in return for parliamentary support from the Liberals and other small parties.

Judging from the policy document, the three-party group does not intend to make any significant changes to recent years’ petroleum policy, pledging to continue holding regular licensing rounds and ensuring stable framework conditions.

However, a future 25th licensing round will not be held until the current management plan for the Barents Sea and Lofoten has been revised, the group said.

A revision of the management plan is due in 2020. This means the 25th round could be delayed compared with the normal two-year interval for the numbered licensing rounds, depending on whether the government starts preparations for the round in parallel with the revision work or waits until after the new management plan has been approved.

The policy statement also said the government will include “climate risk” as one of the elements when evaluating new oil and gas developments. It did not elaborate on what implications this could have for new projects.

With a policy document in place, the next step for the three parties is to negotiate a new cabinet. The Liberals are expected to be put in charge of three or four ministries, with petroleum and energy mentioned by observers as one of the possibilities.

A new cabinet is likely to be formally announced on 19 January.