I found this article quite interesting, as i describes the way Norway manages its income from the vast oil resources, and how Norway has managed to avoid the trap most other petrol-fuel economies have fallen into.

Among oil economies, Norway – the world's third-largest exporter and 10th-largest producer in 2006 – is almost alone in having avoided this fate. As oil has boomed, so has everything else, and it has boomed in areas that will continue to generate economic growth when the oil revenues are gone. This is no accident: For Norwegians, this is a story of planning, self-discipline and a long learning process.

While other countries have become apathetic and uncompetitive during petroleum booms, Norway appears near the top of every international index of competitiveness and entrepreneurship.

The “Norwegian model” has become a topic widely studied, but rarely imitated, among other oil nations. The hotels of Oslo these days are populated with Kuwaitis, Saudis, Kazakhs and Brazilians who have come here to examine the Nordic way.

Their first port of call is an office deep inside the high-security headquarters of the national bank. There, a soft-spoken man with a bald pate and a neatly trimmed beard sits atop one of the world's largest piles of money. Yngve Slyngstad, 47, is the newly appointed manager of the Government Pension Fund – Global, better known as “the oil fund.”

An adjoining room contains computer desks staffed by his 11 traders, who invest the $1-billion in oil money his office receives every week. Norway's oil is drilled from beneath the North Sea by dozens of companies, including Norway's state-owned Statoil and Canadian firms such as Talisman and Petro-Canada. In exchange for the right to drill, they must hand 78 per cent of their profit over to Mr. Slyngstad's fund.

This is Norway's long-term savings account, and in the 17 years since it was launched it has become one of the four largest investment funds in the world. It currently holds $368.2-billion, or $78,351 for each Norwegian citizen. By the end of next year, even with an oil-price decline, it is projected to hold almost $500-billion, or $117,000 for each citizen.

[From globeandmail.com: Frugal Norway saves for life after the boom]

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