The history of oil in Svalbard began in earnest when Norsk Polar Navigasjon drilled in Grønfjorden in 1963. This drilling was done with relatively basic equipment. The rig was simple, with a homemade exhaust valve.

The exploration activity resembled, in many ways, the "coal rush" of the early 1900s. Around 20 companies from more than six different countries came to Svalbard to search for oil and gas, but the archipelago was not sufficiently regulated for such activities to take place under controlled conditions. The legal framework was not suited to this kind of activity, and the Governor of Svalbard’s resources were limited. If commercially viable discoveries had been made, international activity could have increased. This posed a potential threat to Norwegian sovereignty and could have placed significant pressure on Svalbard’s vulnerable natural environment. In 1973, the Norwegian authorities therefore decided to protect over half of the entire archipelago, and the Governor of Svalbard was allocated increased funding.

Seventeen prospecting wells have been drilled since 1963 but nothing worth exploiting has been discovered. In the 1980s and 1990s, extensive seismic surveys conducted in Svalbard and adjacent waters led to the conclusion that oil and gas prospecting are not of interest at present.