The man in his 60s, who is charged with having called in a serious threat to the Ormen Lange gas plant on Thursday, will be compulsorily hospitalized, following a request from the police. 

This is what Trøndelag Police District writes in a press release.

- The criminal case is under investigation and it is now too early to conclude what the outcome will be. The police have no further comments on the case, the police write.

The Ormen Lange plant is located at Nyhavna in Aukra municipality in Møre og Romsdal, but the man lives in Trøndelag. The facility had to be evacuated following the threat that was called in on Thursday morning, and a number of authorities were put on standby.

About an hour after the evacuation, it was clarified that the threat was false. He was then arrested by the police in Trøndelag.

More threats in the past

The man is also charged with a threat to the Hurtigruten MS Nordnorge in Ålesund on 5 October.

In 2020, he was convicted of several threats against airports and a district court, and then had to serve ten months in prison.

According to Helgelands Blad , it was then assessed that he was criminally sane.

Guards at gas plants

Ormen Lange is Norway's second largest gas field, writes Shell . The gas brought ashore is processed in Nyhamna on the island of Gossa in Aukra municipality.

There has been a lot of attention around the preparedness of oil and gas facilities in Norway and other NATO countries after the Nord Stream gas pipeline in the Baltic Sea was broken on 27 September. It is believed that it was subjected to sabotage.

Preparedness has been increased at Norwegian oil and gas facilities, and the Home Guard has been called in to assist with monitoring.