Situated at the southern tip of Western Norway, Stavanger isn’t exactly a huge place – as you’d probably hope for a town that acts as the de facto gateway to the impossibly beautiful Fjords. The population of 121,000 could never be confused with, say, Sao Paolo or Tokyo; metropolis just doesn’t enter into the equation.
In fact, you only begin to square with Stavanger’s profile once you understand the city’s nick name: the Petroleum Capital of Norway. Except there are no nodding-donkey pump jacks here – and even fewer JR Ewing wannabes. Nope, the black gold, Texas Tea, or whichever name you favour for oil is around 320 km southwest of Stavanger in the Ekofisk oil field.