Norwegian Petroleum Museum — The North Sea Rewrites Stavanger
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The discovery of the giant Ekofisk field in 1969 transformed Norway’s expectations for the North Sea and helped make Stavanger the country’s petroleum capital. Offshore oil did not simply add a wealthy industry. It changed engineering, port logistics, employment, immigration, public finance and the international profile of the region. The Petroleum Museum is deliberately placed on the harbour because offshore extraction depends on an enormous onshore support system: offices, supply vessels, fabrication yards, training and regulation. The museum also makes a useful contrast with the canning factories. Both industries turned marine resources into global business, but the capital, technology and environmental stakes are on entirely different scales.