Military to stop guarding Norway's onshore oil and gas plants, police say
OSLO, Nov 29 (Reuters) - The military will no longer protect Norway's onshore oil and gas installations as there is no longer a need for it, the police said on Tuesday, though the country's armed forces and NATO allies will continue to patrol around offshore platforms.
After explosions on the Nord Stream pipelines to Europe on Sept. 26, Oslo deployed its military to protect its oil and gas installations as well as its 9,000 km (5,600 miles) of pipelines.
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NATO member Norway, which shares a border with Russia in the Arctic, is the European Union's largest gas supplier following a drop in Russian gas flows.
Norway's Home Guard was assisting police in patrolling outside onshore oil and gas plants, but there is no longer a need for their help, police said.
"As the situation stands today, there are no concrete threats against Norwegian oil and gas installations," Police Chief Benedicte Bjoernland said in a statement.
"Although the overall threat level has not changed, we now have better control and overview of the situation, which means the police no longer need the assistance of the Home Guard."
Police will continue to patrol around oil and gas installations, it said.
Onshore installations include the Mongstad oil refinery, the Kaarstoe, Kollsnes and Nyhamna gas plants and the Snoehvit liquefied natural gas terminal in the Arctic.
The police service is responsible for the security of onshore installations, while offshore ones are the responsibility of the military, which continues its patrols as announced earlier. (Reporting by Gwladys Fouche; Editing by Jan Harvey)