Norway and the UK drilled the same North Sea.
🇳🇴Norway got $2 trillion.
🇬🇧The UK got tax cuts.
Same basin,Same era.... Completely different outcomes.
Norway captured $30 per barrel in government revenue. The UK captured $11.
That gap, compounded over 50 years of production, is the entire difference.
Norway's model was simple: tax heavily (78% marginal rate), take direct equity stakes in fields via the SDFI, own part of Equinor, and put everything surplus into a fund invested abroad.
The Government Pension Fund Global now holds over $2 trillion in assets.
That's $390,000 per Norwegian citizen about 1.5% of all listed equities on earth.
The fiscal rule: only spend the 3% annual real return. Never touch the principal.
The UK started producing earlier, at lower prices, with a lower tax rate (40%) and no saving mechanism.
North Sea revenues flowed straight into the general budget.
Economists estimate the UK missed out on roughly £400 billion compared to a Norwegian style regime.
The windfall largely financed tax cuts in the 1980s rather than a fund.
Where things stand in 2026?
Norway's petroleum sector will generate $63 bn in net cash flow this year alone feeding a fund already large enough to cover 10-15% of the national budget from returns alone.
The UK is a net energy importer.
Since 2021 it has paid countries like Norway more than £100 billion for gas.
One country treated oil as a finite resource to convert into permanent financial wealth.
The other treated it as income.
image source:eia
@Graham_Swann Our own worst enemy. Poor finishing and dodgy defending/goalkeeping. Need to sign a goalie who doesn't gift a goal a game next season. Good to have full focus on the final though.
If you wanted to argue Britain is becoming an un-developing country, flying from Zurich Airport (runs like a Rolex, part state-owned) into Edinburgh Airport (grim, smells of sewage, owned by BlackRock) would be a good place to start.
That we have food banks is a testament to the fundamental generosity and kindness of people. That we need food banks - and that governments crow jubilantly about how many we have - is a savage indictment of how broken our society is.
Boss: “You arrived 10 minutes late.”
Employee: “Yesterday I stayed late finishing that last-minute report.”
Boss: “I understand… but rules are rules.”
The next day, the employee arrived exactly on time.
And at 6:00 p.m. sharp, shut down the computer.
No extra emails. No work taken home.
If punctuality is non-negotiable, then effort must have boundaries too.
Recognition cannot be one-sided.
When mistakes are highlighted but dedication is ignored, the real message becomes clear:
“Do only what’s required. Nothing more.”
Empathy costs nothing.
The absence of it? That can cost you everything—especially your best people
It would be a Christmas miracle if we could reunite this teddy with their owner! 🎅
If you were on an Edinburgh service today and your little one has lost their favourite cuddly toy, please send us a message. 😊