Hydro Oil & Gas
Encyclopedia
Hydro Oil & Gas is a defunct division of Norsk Hydro
that operated within the oil
and gas
industry. On October 1, 2007 it merged with Statoil
to form the new corporation StatoilHydro
.
, but also operates in Angola
, Canada
, Russia
and Libya
. Hydro was the operator of 13 oil field
s and had a production of 563,000 barrels of oil equivalents.
under the brand name Hydro and operates in Norway and Denmark
with the name HydroTexaco
in joint venture
with Chevron
. In 2006 there were 460 stations in Norway and 550 in Denmark. Also the brands Uno-X
and Rema Bensin were operated by this venture.
and six other French
companies to form Petronord to perform search for oil and gas in the North Sea
. Hydro soon became a large company in the North Sea petroleum industry, and also became operator of a number of fields, the first being Oseberg
.
Hydro acquired in the late 1980s the Mobil
service stations in Norway, Sweden and Denmark, changing their name to Hydro
. In 1995 Hydro merged its stations in Norway and Denmark with the Texaco
, creating the joint venture
HydroTexaco
. The service station chain was sold in 2006 to Reitangruppen and the stations changed name to YX Energi. In 1999 Hydro acquired Norway's third largest petroleum company Saga Petroleum
, who had major upstream
operations primarily in Norway and the United Kingdom
. The British operations were later sold.
The merger proposal with Statoil was announced in December 2006. Under the rules of the EEA
the merger was approved by the European Union
on May 3, 2007 and by the Norwegian Parliament on June 8, 2007. The Norwegian Government, the biggest shareholder in both Statoil and Norsk Hydro, holds 62.5% of the company. Jens Stoltenberg
, the Prime Minister of Norway
commented that he views the merger as "the start of a new era. We are creating a global energy company and strengthening Norway’s oil and gas industry."
Norsk Hydro
Norsk Hydro ASA is a Norwegian aluminium and renewable energy company, headquartered in Oslo. Hydro is the fourth largest integrated aluminium company worldwide. It has operations in some 40 countries around the world and is active on all continents. The Norwegian state holds a 43.8 percent...
that operated within the oil
Petroleum
Petroleum or crude oil is a naturally occurring, flammable liquid consisting of a complex mixture of hydrocarbons of various molecular weights and other liquid organic compounds, that are found in geologic formations beneath the Earth's surface. Petroleum is recovered mostly through oil drilling...
and gas
Natural gas
Natural gas is a naturally occurring gas mixture consisting primarily of methane, typically with 0–20% higher hydrocarbons . It is found associated with other hydrocarbon fuel, in coal beds, as methane clathrates, and is an important fuel source and a major feedstock for fertilizers.Most natural...
industry. On October 1, 2007 it merged with Statoil
Statoil
Statoil ASA is a Norwegian petroleum company established in 1972. It merged with Norsk Hydro in 2007 and was known as StatoilHydro until 2009, when the name was changed back to Statoil ASA. The brand Statoil was retained as a chain of fuel stations owned by StatoilHydro...
to form the new corporation StatoilHydro
StatoilHydro
Statoil ASA, trading as Statoil and formerly known as StatoilHydro, is a Norwegian energy company, formed by the 2007 merger of Statoil with the oil and gas division of Norsk Hydro. The Government of Norway is the largest shareholder in Statoil with 67% of the shares...
.
Operations
Hydro's main operations in petroleum were on the Norwegian continental shelfContinental shelf
The continental shelf is the extended perimeter of each continent and associated coastal plain. Much of the shelf was exposed during glacial periods, but is now submerged under relatively shallow seas and gulfs, and was similarly submerged during other interglacial periods. The continental margin,...
, but also operates in Angola
Angola
Angola, officially the Republic of Angola , is a country in south-central Africa bordered by Namibia on the south, the Democratic Republic of the Congo on the north, and Zambia on the east; its west coast is on the Atlantic Ocean with Luanda as its capital city...
, Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
, Russia
Russia
Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
and Libya
Libya
Libya is an African country in the Maghreb region of North Africa bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to the north, Egypt to the east, Sudan to the southeast, Chad and Niger to the south, and Algeria and Tunisia to the west....
. Hydro was the operator of 13 oil field
Oil field
An oil field is a region with an abundance of oil wells extracting petroleum from below ground. Because the oil reservoirs typically extend over a large area, possibly several hundred kilometres across, full exploitation entails multiple wells scattered across the area...
s and had a production of 563,000 barrels of oil equivalents.
Downstream
Hydro also operated gas stations in SwedenSweden
Sweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. Sweden borders with Norway and Finland and is connected to Denmark by a bridge-tunnel across the Öresund....
under the brand name Hydro and operates in Norway and Denmark
Denmark
Denmark is a Scandinavian country in Northern Europe. The countries of Denmark and Greenland, as well as the Faroe Islands, constitute the Kingdom of Denmark . It is the southernmost of the Nordic countries, southwest of Sweden and south of Norway, and bordered to the south by Germany. Denmark...
with the name HydroTexaco
HydroTexaco
YX Energi, formerly known as Hydro Texaco, is a Norwegian and Danish gas station chain formed after the merge of the Hydro and Texaco gas station chains in 1995. In 2006 the company was bought by Reitangruppen and incorporated into their chain including the implementation of 7-Eleven brand on the...
in joint venture
Joint venture
A joint venture is a business agreement in which parties agree to develop, for a finite time, a new entity and new assets by contributing equity. They exercise control over the enterprise and consequently share revenues, expenses and assets...
with Chevron
Chevron Corporation
Chevron Corporation is an American multinational energy corporation headquartered in San Ramon, California, United States and active in more than 180 countries. It is engaged in every aspect of the oil, gas, and geothermal energy industries, including exploration and production; refining,...
. In 2006 there were 460 stations in Norway and 550 in Denmark. Also the brands Uno-X
Uno-X
Uno-X is a chain of unmanned fuel stations throughout Norway and Denmark. It is operated as the low-cost section of YX Energi. The chain was originally created as a low cost chain in Denmark in the late 1950s. The rights to use the name in Sweden were sold to Britain's Burmah Oil...
and Rema Bensin were operated by this venture.
History
In 1965 Hydro joined Elf AquitaineElf Aquitaine
Elf Aquitaine was a French oil company which merged with TotalFina to form TotalFinaElf. The new company changed its name to Total in 2003...
and six other French
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
companies to form Petronord to perform search for oil and gas in the North Sea
North Sea
In the southwest, beyond the Straits of Dover, the North Sea becomes the English Channel connecting to the Atlantic Ocean. In the east, it connects to the Baltic Sea via the Skagerrak and Kattegat, narrow straits that separate Denmark from Norway and Sweden respectively...
. Hydro soon became a large company in the North Sea petroleum industry, and also became operator of a number of fields, the first being Oseberg
Oseberg oil field
Oseberg is an offshore oil field with a gas cap in the North Sea located northwest of the city of Bergen on the southwestern coast of Norway....
.
Hydro acquired in the late 1980s the Mobil
Mobil
Mobil, previously known as the Socony-Vacuum Oil Company, was a major American oil company which merged with Exxon in 1999 to form ExxonMobil. Today Mobil continues as a major brand name within the combined company, as well as still being a gas station sometimes paired with their own store or On...
service stations in Norway, Sweden and Denmark, changing their name to Hydro
Hydro (fuel station)
Hydro was a chain of fuel stations throughout Sweden owned by Statoil. The chain had more than 500 stations, as well as some unmanned Uno-X stations...
. In 1995 Hydro merged its stations in Norway and Denmark with the Texaco
Texaco
Texaco is the name of an American oil retail brand. Its flagship product is its fuel "Texaco with Techron". It also owns the Havoline motor oil brand....
, creating the joint venture
Joint venture
A joint venture is a business agreement in which parties agree to develop, for a finite time, a new entity and new assets by contributing equity. They exercise control over the enterprise and consequently share revenues, expenses and assets...
HydroTexaco
HydroTexaco
YX Energi, formerly known as Hydro Texaco, is a Norwegian and Danish gas station chain formed after the merge of the Hydro and Texaco gas station chains in 1995. In 2006 the company was bought by Reitangruppen and incorporated into their chain including the implementation of 7-Eleven brand on the...
. The service station chain was sold in 2006 to Reitangruppen and the stations changed name to YX Energi. In 1999 Hydro acquired Norway's third largest petroleum company Saga Petroleum
Saga Petroleum
Saga Petroleum was a Norwegian upstream petroleum company established in 1972 that was acquired by Norsk Hydro in 1999. Since October 2007 it is a part of Statoil. The company was the only fully private oil company in Norway. It had partial ownership in 60 oil field licenses and was operator of 18...
, who had major upstream
Upstream (oil industry)
The oil and gas industry is usually divided into three major components: Upstream, midstream and downstream, though midstream operations are usually included in the downstream category....
operations primarily in Norway and the United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
. The British operations were later sold.
The merger proposal with Statoil was announced in December 2006. Under the rules of the EEA
European Economic Area
The European Economic Area was established on 1 January 1994 following an agreement between the member states of the European Free Trade Association and the European Community, later the European Union . Specifically, it allows Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway to participate in the EU's Internal...
the merger was approved by the European Union
European Union
The European Union is an economic and political union of 27 independent member states which are located primarily in Europe. The EU traces its origins from the European Coal and Steel Community and the European Economic Community , formed by six countries in 1958...
on May 3, 2007 and by the Norwegian Parliament on June 8, 2007. The Norwegian Government, the biggest shareholder in both Statoil and Norsk Hydro, holds 62.5% of the company. Jens Stoltenberg
Jens Stoltenberg
is a Norwegian politician, leader of the Norwegian Labour Party and the current Prime Minister of Norway. Having assumed office on 17 October 2005, Stoltenberg previously served as Prime Minister from 2000 to 2001....
, the Prime Minister of Norway
Prime Minister of Norway
The Prime Minister of Norway is the political leader of Norway and the Head of His Majesty's Government. The Prime Minister and Cabinet are collectively accountable for their policies and actions to the Sovereign, to Stortinget , to their political party, and ultimately the...
commented that he views the merger as "the start of a new era. We are creating a global energy company and strengthening Norway’s oil and gas industry."