StatoilHydro
Encyclopedia
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. The ownership interest is managed by the Norwegian Ministry of Petroleum and Energy.
Statoil is a fully integrated petroleum company with production operations in thirteen countries and retail operations in eight. By revenue Statoil is in 2010 ranked by Fortune Magazine
as the world's 13th largest oil and gas company, and the largest company in the Nordic region
by revenue
, profit
, and market capitalization
.
, with 60% of the total production. The fields operated are Brage, Heimdal, Grane, Glitne, Gullfaks
, Heidrun
, Huldra, Kristin, Kvitebjørn, Mikkel, Njord, Norne, Ormen Lange, Oseberg
, Sleipner
, Snorre
, Snøhvit
, Statfjord
, Sygna, Tordis, Troll, Veslefrikk, Vigdis, Visund, Volve and Åsgard. The company also has processing plants at Kolsnes, Kårstø
, Mongstad
, Tjeldbergodden
and Melkøya.
In addition to the Norwegian continental shelf, Statoil operates oil and gas fields in Algeria
, Angola
, Azerbaijan
, Brazil
, Canada
, China
, Iran
, Libya
, Nigeria
, Russia
, United States
and Venezuela
. Statoil has offices that are looking for possible ventures in the countries of Egypt
, Mexico
, Qatar
and United Arab Emirates
. The company has processing plants in Belgium
, Denmark
, France
and Germany
. In 2006, Statoil was approved to implement the world's largest carbon sequestration project as a means to mitigate carbon emissions to the atmosphere.
Statoil is a signatory participant of the Voluntary Principles on Security and Human Rights.
In September 2007, Statoil and the Brazilian oil company Petrobras signed a deal aimed at expanding exploration, sub-sea and bio-fuels cooperation. With the acquisition of Hydro Statoil became a partner in Brazil's offshore Peregrino
oil field, which commenced operation in 2010. Under the agreement Statoil became a partner on six offshore licenses, as well as expanding biofuels production. Petrobras and Statoil announced plans to create dozens of refineries in Brazil and the rest of the world where vegetable oil will be added to crude to create a no-sulphur fuel.
On 4 March 2008, Statoil bought Anadarko Petroleum Corporation
's 50% share of the Peregrino oil field for 1.8 billion USD. At the time of acquiring the license, the field's recovery factor was estimated to be 9%. However, with the current reservoir depletion plan of the field calling for the use of produced water injection and rock compaction, Peregrino's recovery factor has increased to 20%. On November 4, 2009 Statoil executive VP Peter Mellbye stated that Statoil could reduce its 100% stake in the project. On 24 May 2010, Statoil reversed course and sold its 40% stake in the Peregrino field to Sinochem, the Chinese state-controlled oil company, for a cash sum of $3.07 billion.
On 7 April 2010, Statoil announced finding oil and gas reserves in the Fossekall prospect just north of the Norne oil field
in the Norwegian Sea. The proved recoverable oil resources were provisionally estimated at between 37 Moilbbl, while the volume of associated and free gas was estimated at between 1 to 3 billion standard cubic metres.
In May 2010, Noble Energy
, Inc., operator of the Deep Blue exploration well on Green Canyon 723 in the deepwater Gulf of Mexico successfully reached a depth of 32684 feet (9,962.1 m). Statoil holds a 15.625 per cent interest in the Deep Blue well.
In April 2011, Statoil announced a large new find at the Skrugard prospect in the northern Norwegian Sea (Barents Sea in Statoil terminology) north of the Snøhvit
field off Hammerfest
. The find was seen as a key find as it could lead to more finds in the region
In September 2011 the company announced a large new find at its Aldous Major South prospect on the Norwegian continental shelf. It later amended its estimates up to between 900 million and 1.5 billion barrels of recoverable oil, making it one of the largest ever finds on the shelf. The discovery was made less than 10 feet (3 metres) from where Elf Aquitaine
had drilled a dry well in 1971.
, including Zeepipe
, Statpipe
, Europipe I
and Europipe II
, and Franpipe
from the Norwegian continental shelf to Western Europe
in addition to the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan pipeline
in Central Asia
. The pipelines from Norway are organized through Gassled
.
The company has trading offices for crude oil, refined petroleum products and natural gas liquids in London
, Stamford
and Singapore
.
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The company operates three brands of fuel stations: Statoil
, Hydro
and 1-2-3
. Statoil operates petrol station services in Denmark
, Estonia
, Ireland
, Latvia
, Lithuania
, Norway, Poland
, Russia
and Sweden
. Some fully automated stations are branded 1-2-3. In Sweden the company also operates Hydro stations. In total Statoil has about 2,000 fuel stations. In mid-2008, Statoil service stations in the Republic of Ireland
began to rebrand as Topaz
, following the acquisition of the company in 2006 by Irish oil firm Topaz
Energy Group.
In first quarter of 2010, Statoil ASA decided to have a new ownership structure for the retail operation. The "Stock exchange listing" is assumed to be the most likely solution and may take place in the fourth quarter of 2010 at the earliest.
The decision is prompted by an analysis of the development opportunities for Statoil's energy and retail business (Energy and Retail - E&R), which includes service stations, and the supply of lubricants, aviation and marine fuels. Statoil ASA goal is to still be the main shareholder in the new company, Statoil Fuel & Retail ASA
. They will still keep their brand and "droplet".
The heritage of Statoil derives from the three major Norwegian petroleum companies Statoil, Norsk Hydro
and Saga Petroleum
(the latter two merged in 1999).
Den Norske Stats Oljeselskap A/S was founded as a private limited company owned by the Government of Norway on July 14, 1972 by a unanimous act passed by the Norwegian parliament Stortinget. The political motivation was Norwegian participation in the oil industry on the continental shelf and to build up Norwegian competency within the petroleum industry to establish the foundations of a domestic petroleum industry. Statoil was required to discuss important issues with the Minister of Industry, later Minister of Petroleum and Energy
. Statoil was also required to submit an annual report to the parliament.
In 1973 the company started work acquiring a presence in the petrochemical industry
. This resulted in the development of processing plants in Rafsnes and, in partnership with Norsk Hydro
, the Mongstad
plant in 1980. In 1981 the company acquired, as the first Norwegian company, operator rights on the Norwegian continental shelf
on the Gullfaks field. 1987-88 saw the largest scandal in the companies history, the Mongstad scandal
that made the until then unassailable CEO Arve Johnsen
withdraw.
In the 1980s Statoil decided to become a fully integrated petroleum company and started building the Statoil
fuel station brand. The stations in Norway originated as Norol stations while the stations in Denmark
and Sweden
were purchased from Esso
in 1985, while the stations in Ireland were purchased from British Petroleum in 1992 and ConocoPhilips Jet in the mid '90s, then sold by Statoil to Topaz Oil
in 2006. Statoil also built up a network of stations in part of Eastern Europe in the 1990s.
The company was privatised and made a public limited company
(allmennaksjeselskap
) in 2001, becoming listed on the both the Oslo Stock Exchange
and the New York Stock Exchange
. At the same time it changed its name to Statoil ASA. The government still retained a majority ownership in the company. In 2007 Statoil bought a large area in the Athabasca oil sand field
in Canada after purchasing North American Oil Sands Corporation for USD
2.2 billion.
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. 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 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. Statoil's shareholders hold 67.3% of the new company, with Norsk Hydro shareholders owning the remaining 32.7%. The Norwegian Government, the biggest shareholder in both Statoil and Norsk Hydro, holds 67% of the company. Jens Stoltenberg
, the Norwegian Prime Minister
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."
It has been noted within the analyst community that a proposal will create an entity with much more competitive strength versus its much larger European rivals, including BP, Total
and Shell
, while also increasing the ability of the company to make strategic acquisitions, particularly in the Gulf of Mexico
. It is the ninth largest oil company in the world, and would be the 48th largest company in the world on the current Fortune Global 500
list with a revenue of NOK
480 billion.
The company's management team was initially to be led by President and CEO Helge Lund
(who previously held the same posts at Statoil), with Eivind Reiten
, the President and CEO of Hydro, acting as Chairman. However, Eivind Reiten decided to resign as chairman three days after the merger because of a possible corruption case in Hydro's former oil division. The Vice-Chair and former Minister of Petroleum and Energy
Marit Arnstad
served as chairperson until 1 April, when Svein Rennemo
took up the post on a permanent basis after resigning as the CEO of the Norwegian oil services company Petroleum Geo-Services
(PGS).
To reflect a merger of two companies and with regards of the minor partner, Hydro, it was decided that the joint company should be given a new name. An actual new name was not decided upon at the time of the merger, and StatoilHydro was created for temporary usage only. The firm announced its intention to revert to the name Statoil ASA, and this was approved by the Annual General Meeting in May 2009. The name was changed on 2 November 2009
joint venture for NOK 17.35 billion ($3.25 billion) to Solveig Gas Norway AS and still has 5 percent shares in the JV.
and Friends of the Earth Norway, who protested the building of a new research and development
centre at Rotvoll
in Trondheim
, Norway
, wetlands area close to the city with significant bird life. The controversy was climaxed with civil disobedience
by the environmentalists, but the centre was still built.
in 2002–2003 in an attempt to secure lucrative oil contracts in that country. This was mainly achieved by hiring the services of Horton Investments, an Iranian consultancy firm owned by Mehdi Hashemi Rafsanjani, son of former Iranian President Hashemi Rafsanjani. Horton Investments was paid USD
15.2 million by Statoil to influence important political figures in Iran to grant oil contracts to Statoil. The corruption scandal was uncovered by Norwegian paper Dagens Næringsliv
on September 3, 2003.
in the Corrib gas project, which entails developing a natural gas
field off the northwest of Ireland
. The project has proved controversial with some Irish residents. In the summer of 2005, five men
from County Mayo
were jailed for contempt of court after refusing to obey a temporary court injunction forbidding them to interfere with work being undertaken on their land. The ensuing protests led to the Shell to Sea
campaign that opposes the project.
9 November 2007 the journalist Erling Borgen criticizes Helge Lund for Statoil's participation in corrupt and undemocratic
countries. Helge Lund has stated that it is not his or Statoil's intention to express opinions on such issues.
, according to one of Aftenposten
's resident critics
of art/architecture, as of October 2010.
oil field projects because of higher taxes in the U.K. budget. In May 2011 they hired former MI6 chief John Scarlett
as a strategic advisor.
Statoil has injected CO2 into the Utsira formation on the Sleipner gas field
for environmental storage purposes since 1996. Natural gas containing approximately 8.5% CO2 is produced on the Sleipner Vest field. The gas is transported to the Sleipner Treatment platform, where the CO2 is removed. The gas is exported to the UK, Germany and Belgium, and the CO2 is injected into the Utsira formation.
The world's first operational deep-water floating large-capacity wind turbine is the Hywind, launched by Statoil in 2009. The 2.3 MW turbine can be anchored in water 120–700 m deep. It will be tested off the coast of Norway
for two years. The 120-meter-tall tower with a 2.3 MW turbine was towed 10 km offshore into the Amoy Fjord, in 220-meter-deep water, off of Stavanger, Norway on 2009-06-06 for a two year test run.
The unit became operational in the summer of 2009,
and was formally inaugurated on 8 September 2009.
The Hydrogen Technologies division, located in Notodden
in the county of Telemark
, is widely regarded as a world leader in alkaline electrolysis
technology, used to generate hydrogen and oxygen from water.
When powered by clean, renewable energy sources, hydrogen represents an alternative energy storage medium that could one-day fill the void created when the world's fossil-fuel reserves have been fully depleted.
announced that Statoil will be an official sponsor of the FIS Nordic World Ski Championships 2011 that will be held in Oslo
.
Norway
Norway , officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic unitary constitutional monarchy whose territory comprises the western portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula, Jan Mayen, and the Arctic archipelago of Svalbard and Bouvet Island. Norway has a total area of and a population of about 4.9 million...
energy company, formed by the 2007 merger of Statoil with the oil and gas division
Hydro Oil & Gas
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.-Operations:...
of Norsk Hydro
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...
. The Government of Norway is the largest shareholder in Statoil with 67% of the shares. The ownership interest is managed by the Norwegian Ministry of Petroleum and Energy.
Statoil is a fully integrated petroleum company with production operations in thirteen countries and retail operations in eight. By revenue Statoil is in 2010 ranked by Fortune Magazine
Fortune Global 500
The Fortune Global 500 is a ranking of the top 500 corporations worldwide as measured by revenue. The list is compiled and published annually by Fortune magazine....
as the world's 13th largest oil and gas company, and the largest company in the Nordic region
Nordic countries
The Nordic countries make up a region in Northern Europe and the North Atlantic which consists of Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway and Sweden and their associated territories, the Faroe Islands, Greenland and Åland...
by revenue
Revenue
In business, revenue is income that a company receives from its normal business activities, usually from the sale of goods and services to customers. In many countries, such as the United Kingdom, revenue is referred to as turnover....
, profit
Profit (accounting)
In accounting, profit can be considered to be the difference between the purchase price and the costs of bringing to market whatever it is that is accounted as an enterprise in terms of the component costs of delivered goods and/or services and any operating or other expenses.-Definition:There are...
, and market capitalization
Market capitalization
Market capitalization is a measurement of the value of the ownership interest that shareholders hold in a business enterprise. It is equal to the share price times the number of shares outstanding of a publicly traded company...
.
Upstream oil, gas, and biofuel operations
Statoil is the largest operator on the Norwegian continental shelfNorwegian continental shelf
The Norwegian continental shelf is the continental shelf over which Norway exercises sovereign rights as defined by the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea...
, with 60% of the total production. The fields operated are Brage, Heimdal, Grane, Glitne, Gullfaks
Gullfaks oil field
Gullfaks is an oil and gas field in the Norwegian sector of the North Sea operated by Statoil. It was discovered in 1979, in block 34/10, at a water depth of 135 meters. The initial recoverable reserve is , and the remaining recoverable reserve in 2004 is . This oil field reached peak production in...
, Heidrun
Heidrun oil field
The Heidrun oil field is an oil and gas field discovered in 1985 in the Norwegian sector of the Norwegian Sea, named after the goat Heiðrún from Norse mythology....
, Huldra, Kristin, Kvitebjørn, Mikkel, Njord, Norne, Ormen Lange, 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....
, Sleipner
Sleipner gas field
The Sleipner gas field is a natural gas field in the North Sea, about west of Stavanger, Norway. Two parts of the field are in production, Sleipner West , and Sleipner East . The field produces natural gas and light oil condensates from sandstone structures about below sea level. It is operated...
, Snorre
Snorre oil field
Snorre is an oil and gas field in the Tampen area in the southern part of the Norwegian Sea. The sea depth in the area is . Snorre is operational since August 1992. It was the first field developed by Saga Petroleum.-Production:...
, Snøhvit
Snøhvit
Snøhvit is the name of a natural gas field in the Norwegian Sea, situated northwest of Hammerfest, Norway. The northern part of the Norwegian Sea is often described as the Barents Sea by offshore petroleum companies...
, Statfjord
Statfjord oil field
The Statfjord oil field is an enormous oil and gas field in the Norwegian sector of the North Sea operated by Statoil.It is a trans-median field crossing the Norwegian and UK North Sea Boundary with approximately 15% being in the UK Continental Shelf waters. At peak production it produced over of...
, Sygna, Tordis, Troll, Veslefrikk, Vigdis, Visund, Volve and Åsgard. The company also has processing plants at Kolsnes, Kårstø
Kårstø
Kårstø is an industrial facility located in Tysvær, Norway. The site features a number of natural gas processing plants to refine natural gas and condensate from the fields in the northern parts of the North Sea, including Åsgard, Mikkel and Sleipner...
, Mongstad
Mongstad
Mongstad is an industrial site located in the municipalities of Lindås and Austrheim in Hordaland, Norway. The site features an oil refinery for Statoil and other oil companies, including Shell. At Mongstad, Statoil has a crude oil terminal with a capacity of . The port at Mongstad is the largest...
, Tjeldbergodden
Tjeldbergodden
Tjeldbergodden is an industrial facility mainly featuring petroleum facilities located in the northeastern part of the municipality of Aure in Møre og Romsdal county, Norway. It was constructed during the 1990s and among other things features the Statoil natural gas processing plant for the Heidrun...
and Melkøya.
In addition to the Norwegian continental shelf, Statoil operates oil and gas fields in Algeria
Algeria
Algeria , officially the People's Democratic Republic of Algeria , also formally referred to as the Democratic and Popular Republic of Algeria, is a country in the Maghreb region of Northwest Africa with Algiers as its capital.In terms of land area, it is the largest country in Africa and the Arab...
, 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...
, Azerbaijan
Azerbaijan
Azerbaijan , officially the Republic of Azerbaijan is the largest country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia. Located at the crossroads of Western Asia and Eastern Europe, it is bounded by the Caspian Sea to the east, Russia to the north, Georgia to the northwest, Armenia to the west, and Iran to...
, Brazil
Brazil
Brazil , officially the Federative Republic of Brazil , is the largest country in South America. It is the world's fifth largest country, both by geographical area and by population with over 192 million people...
, 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...
, China
China
Chinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture...
, Iran
Iran
Iran , officially the Islamic Republic of Iran , is a country in Southern and Western Asia. The name "Iran" has been in use natively since the Sassanian era and came into use internationally in 1935, before which the country was known to the Western world as Persia...
, 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....
, Nigeria
Nigeria
Nigeria , officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a federal constitutional republic comprising 36 states and its Federal Capital Territory, Abuja. The country is located in West Africa and shares land borders with the Republic of Benin in the west, Chad and Cameroon in the east, and Niger in...
, 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...
, United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
and Venezuela
Venezuela
Venezuela , officially called the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela , is a tropical country on the northern coast of South America. It borders Colombia to the west, Guyana to the east, and Brazil to the south...
. Statoil has offices that are looking for possible ventures in the countries of Egypt
Egypt
Egypt , officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, Arabic: , is a country mainly in North Africa, with the Sinai Peninsula forming a land bridge in Southwest Asia. Egypt is thus a transcontinental country, and a major power in Africa, the Mediterranean Basin, the Middle East and the Muslim world...
, Mexico
Mexico
The United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federal constitutional republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of...
, Qatar
Qatar
Qatar , also known as the State of Qatar or locally Dawlat Qaṭar, is a sovereign Arab state, located in the Middle East, occupying the small Qatar Peninsula on the northeasterly coast of the much larger Arabian Peninsula. Its sole land border is with Saudi Arabia to the south, with the rest of its...
and United Arab Emirates
United Arab Emirates
The United Arab Emirates, abbreviated as the UAE, or shortened to "the Emirates", is a state situated in the southeast of the Arabian Peninsula in Western Asia on the Persian Gulf, bordering Oman, and Saudi Arabia, and sharing sea borders with Iraq, Kuwait, Bahrain, Qatar, and Iran.The UAE is a...
. The company has processing plants in Belgium
Belgium
Belgium , officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a federal state in Western Europe. It is a founding member of the European Union and hosts the EU's headquarters, and those of several other major international organisations such as NATO.Belgium is also a member of, or affiliated to, many...
, 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...
, France
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...
and Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
. In 2006, Statoil was approved to implement the world's largest carbon sequestration project as a means to mitigate carbon emissions to the atmosphere.
Statoil is a signatory participant of the Voluntary Principles on Security and Human Rights.
In September 2007, Statoil and the Brazilian oil company Petrobras signed a deal aimed at expanding exploration, sub-sea and bio-fuels cooperation. With the acquisition of Hydro Statoil became a partner in Brazil's offshore Peregrino
Peregrino
Peregrino is an oil field located offshore Brazil east of Rio de Janeiro in the southwest part of the Campos Basin area, with about of oil in place within the sanctioned area - discovered in 2004. The field was formerly known as Chinook....
oil field, which commenced operation in 2010. Under the agreement Statoil became a partner on six offshore licenses, as well as expanding biofuels production. Petrobras and Statoil announced plans to create dozens of refineries in Brazil and the rest of the world where vegetable oil will be added to crude to create a no-sulphur fuel.
On 4 March 2008, Statoil bought Anadarko Petroleum Corporation
Anadarko Petroleum Corporation
Anadarko Petroleum Corporation is one of the world’s largest independent oil and gas exploration and production companies, with approximately 2.3 billion barrels of oil equivalent of proved reserves and production of 206 million BOE as of December 31, 2008. Anadarko employs a worldwide...
's 50% share of the Peregrino oil field for 1.8 billion USD. At the time of acquiring the license, the field's recovery factor was estimated to be 9%. However, with the current reservoir depletion plan of the field calling for the use of produced water injection and rock compaction, Peregrino's recovery factor has increased to 20%. On November 4, 2009 Statoil executive VP Peter Mellbye stated that Statoil could reduce its 100% stake in the project. On 24 May 2010, Statoil reversed course and sold its 40% stake in the Peregrino field to Sinochem, the Chinese state-controlled oil company, for a cash sum of $3.07 billion.
On 7 April 2010, Statoil announced finding oil and gas reserves in the Fossekall prospect just north of the Norne oil field
Norne oil field
Norne is an oil field located around north of the Heidrun oil field in the Norwegian Sea. The sea depth in the area is . The field is roughly from the landfall at Dornum in Germany. Norne lies in a licence which was awarded in 1986, and embraces blocks 6608/10 and 6608/11. The Alve field nearby...
in the Norwegian Sea. The proved recoverable oil resources were provisionally estimated at between 37 Moilbbl, while the volume of associated and free gas was estimated at between 1 to 3 billion standard cubic metres.
In May 2010, Noble Energy
Noble Energy
Noble Energy, Inc. of Houston, Texas, United States is the modern name of Noble Affiliates Inc., by which it was known through the 1990s, and it is now an oil and natural gas exploration and production company with almost US$3 billion in revenue at #660 on the 2007 Fortune 1000 list of the largest...
, Inc., operator of the Deep Blue exploration well on Green Canyon 723 in the deepwater Gulf of Mexico successfully reached a depth of 32684 feet (9,962.1 m). Statoil holds a 15.625 per cent interest in the Deep Blue well.
In April 2011, Statoil announced a large new find at the Skrugard prospect in the northern Norwegian Sea (Barents Sea in Statoil terminology) north of the Snøhvit
Snøhvit
Snøhvit is the name of a natural gas field in the Norwegian Sea, situated northwest of Hammerfest, Norway. The northern part of the Norwegian Sea is often described as the Barents Sea by offshore petroleum companies...
field off Hammerfest
Hammerfest
is a city and municipality in Finnmark county, Norway. The municipality encompasses parts of three islands: Kvaløya, Sørøya, and Seiland. Hammerfest was established as a municipality on 1 January 1838...
. The find was seen as a key find as it could lead to more finds in the region
In September 2011 the company announced a large new find at its Aldous Major South prospect on the Norwegian continental shelf. It later amended its estimates up to between 900 million and 1.5 billion barrels of recoverable oil, making it one of the largest ever finds on the shelf. The discovery was made less than 10 feet (3 metres) from where Elf Aquitaine
Elf 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...
had drilled a dry well in 1971.
Pipeline operations
Statoil is involved in a number of pipelinesPipeline transport
Pipeline transport is the transportation of goods through a pipe. Most commonly, liquids and gases are sent, but pneumatic tubes that transport solid capsules using compressed air are also used....
, including Zeepipe
Zeepipe
The Zeepipe is a natural gas transportation system to transport North Sea natural gas to the receiving terminal at Zeebrugge in Belgium.The total costs of Zeepipe system is around 24.2 billion NOK. It is owned by Gassled partners and operated by Gassco. The technical service provider is Statoil...
, Statpipe
Statpipe
The Statpipe pipeline is a natural gas system, which links northern North Sea gas fields with the Norway's gas export system. It transports gas from Statfjord, Gullfaks, Heimdal, Veslefrikk, Snorre, Brage, Tordis and Statfjord gas fields.-History:...
, Europipe I
Europipe I
Europipe I is a long natural gas pipeline from the North Sea to Continental Europe.-History:The feasibility study of the pipeline's project was conducted in 1990. On 20 April 1993, an agreement between Norway and Germany was concluded on the construction of Europipe...
and Europipe II
Europipe II
Europipe II is a natural gas pipeline from the Kårstø processing plant north of Stavanger to a receiving terminal at Dornum in Germany. It became on stream on 1 October 1999.-Route:...
, and Franpipe
Franpipe
The Franpipe is a long natural gas pipeline from the Draupner E riser in the North Sea to the receiving terminal at Port Ouest in Dunkirk, France. The gas transported to France originates mainly from Sleipner East and Troll Vest gas fields...
from the Norwegian continental shelf to Western Europe
Western Europe
Western Europe is a loose term for the collection of countries in the western most region of the European continents, though this definition is context-dependent and carries cultural and political connotations. One definition describes Western Europe as a geographic entity—the region lying in the...
in addition to the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan pipeline
Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan pipeline
The Baku–Tbilisi–Ceyhan pipeline is a long crude oil pipeline from the Azeri-Chirag-Guneshli oil field in the Caspian Sea to the Mediterranean Sea. It connects Baku, the capital of Azerbaijan; Tbilisi, the capital of Georgia; and Ceyhan, a port on the south-eastern Mediterranean coast of Turkey,...
in Central Asia
Central Asia
Central Asia is a core region of the Asian continent from the Caspian Sea in the west, China in the east, Afghanistan in the south, and Russia in the north...
. The pipelines from Norway are organized through Gassled
Gassled
Gassled is a partnership to own the offshore natural gas transportation infrastructure on behalf of oil and gas companies operating at Norwegian continental shelf of North Sea. Gassled was created on 20 December 2002 and it became operational on 1 January 2003...
.
The company has trading offices for crude oil, refined petroleum products and natural gas liquids in London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
, Stamford
Stamford, Connecticut
Stamford is a city in Fairfield County, Connecticut, United States. According to the 2010 census, the population of the city is 122,643, making it the fourth largest city in the state and the eighth largest city in New England...
and Singapore
Singapore
Singapore , officially the Republic of Singapore, is a Southeast Asian city-state off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, north of the equator. An island country made up of 63 islands, it is separated from Malaysia by the Straits of Johor to its north and from Indonesia's Riau Islands by the...
.
Retail station operations
- See also Statoil Fuel & RetailStatoil Fuel & RetailStatoil Fuel & Retail ASA is a Norwegian energy retail company, formed by the 2010 separation of the downstream business of Statoil ASA into a separate listed company....
.
The company operates three brands of fuel stations: Statoil
Statoil (fuel station)
Statoil is a chain of fuel stations operating in eight countries in Northern Europe. The chain is owned by Statoil and operates about 2,300 stations.-Stations:* Sweden: 805* Norway: 572* Denmark: 405* Poland: 297* Lithuania: 72* Latvia: 69...
, 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...
and 1-2-3
1-2-3 (fuel station)
1-2-3 is an unmanned fuel station chain in the Nordic and Baltic regions.It was created in 2000, as the low cost extension of the Statoil chain, and owned by Statoil Fuel & Retail ASA. The first outlet was opened in Kaunas in December 2000. 65 outlets were planned in the Baltic, later to be...
. Statoil operates petrol station services in 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...
, Estonia
Estonia
Estonia , officially the Republic of Estonia , is a state in the Baltic region of Northern Europe. It is bordered to the north by the Gulf of Finland, to the west by the Baltic Sea, to the south by Latvia , and to the east by Lake Peipsi and the Russian Federation . Across the Baltic Sea lies...
, Ireland
Republic of Ireland
Ireland , described as the Republic of Ireland , is a sovereign state in Europe occupying approximately five-sixths of the island of the same name. Its capital is Dublin. Ireland, which had a population of 4.58 million in 2011, is a constitutional republic governed as a parliamentary democracy,...
, Latvia
Latvia
Latvia , officially the Republic of Latvia , is a country in the Baltic region of Northern Europe. It is bordered to the north by Estonia , to the south by Lithuania , to the east by the Russian Federation , to the southeast by Belarus and shares maritime borders to the west with Sweden...
, Lithuania
Lithuania
Lithuania , officially the Republic of Lithuania is a country in Northern Europe, the biggest of the three Baltic states. It is situated along the southeastern shore of the Baltic Sea, whereby to the west lie Sweden and Denmark...
, Norway, Poland
Poland
Poland , officially the Republic of Poland , is a country in Central Europe bordered by Germany to the west; the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south; Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania to the east; and the Baltic Sea and Kaliningrad Oblast, a Russian exclave, to the north...
, 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 Sweden
Sweden
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....
. Some fully automated stations are branded 1-2-3. In Sweden the company also operates Hydro stations. In total Statoil has about 2,000 fuel stations. In mid-2008, Statoil service stations in the Republic of Ireland
Republic of Ireland
Ireland , described as the Republic of Ireland , is a sovereign state in Europe occupying approximately five-sixths of the island of the same name. Its capital is Dublin. Ireland, which had a population of 4.58 million in 2011, is a constitutional republic governed as a parliamentary democracy,...
began to rebrand as Topaz
Topaz
Topaz is a silicate mineral of aluminium and fluorine with the chemical formula Al2SiO42. Topaz crystallizes in the orthorhombic system and its crystals are mostly prismatic terminated by pyramidal and other faces.-Color and varieties:...
, following the acquisition of the company in 2006 by Irish oil firm Topaz
Topaz
Topaz is a silicate mineral of aluminium and fluorine with the chemical formula Al2SiO42. Topaz crystallizes in the orthorhombic system and its crystals are mostly prismatic terminated by pyramidal and other faces.-Color and varieties:...
Energy Group.
In first quarter of 2010, Statoil ASA decided to have a new ownership structure for the retail operation. The "Stock exchange listing" is assumed to be the most likely solution and may take place in the fourth quarter of 2010 at the earliest.
The decision is prompted by an analysis of the development opportunities for Statoil's energy and retail business (Energy and Retail - E&R), which includes service stations, and the supply of lubricants, aviation and marine fuels. Statoil ASA goal is to still be the main shareholder in the new company, Statoil Fuel & Retail ASA
Statoil Fuel & Retail
Statoil Fuel & Retail ASA is a Norwegian energy retail company, formed by the 2010 separation of the downstream business of Statoil ASA into a separate listed company....
. They will still keep their brand and "droplet".
History
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...
and 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...
(the latter two merged in 1999).
Statoil
- See also History of Statoil (1972–2007).
Den Norske Stats Oljeselskap A/S was founded as a private limited company owned by the Government of Norway on July 14, 1972 by a unanimous act passed by the Norwegian parliament Stortinget. The political motivation was Norwegian participation in the oil industry on the continental shelf and to build up Norwegian competency within the petroleum industry to establish the foundations of a domestic petroleum industry. Statoil was required to discuss important issues with the Minister of Industry, later Minister of Petroleum and Energy
Minister of Petroleum and Energy (Norway)
The Norwegian Minister of Petroleum and Energy is the head of the Royal Norwegian Ministry of Petroleum and Energy.- Councillor of State and Chief of the Ministry of Petroleum and Energy 1978 – 1992 :...
. Statoil was also required to submit an annual report to the parliament.
In 1973 the company started work acquiring a presence in the petrochemical industry
Petrochemical
Petrochemicals are chemical products derived from petroleum. Some chemical compounds made from petroleum are also obtained from other fossil fuels, such as coal or natural gas, or renewable sources such as corn or sugar cane....
. This resulted in the development of processing plants in Rafsnes and, in partnership with Norsk Hydro
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...
, the Mongstad
Mongstad
Mongstad is an industrial site located in the municipalities of Lindås and Austrheim in Hordaland, Norway. The site features an oil refinery for Statoil and other oil companies, including Shell. At Mongstad, Statoil has a crude oil terminal with a capacity of . The port at Mongstad is the largest...
plant in 1980. In 1981 the company acquired, as the first Norwegian company, operator rights on the Norwegian continental shelf
Norwegian continental shelf
The Norwegian continental shelf is the continental shelf over which Norway exercises sovereign rights as defined by the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea...
on the Gullfaks field. 1987-88 saw the largest scandal in the companies history, the Mongstad scandal
Mongstad scandal
The Mongstad scandal was a crisis in the Norwegian oil company Statoil in 1987-88.The company exceed the NOK 8 billion budget by NOK 6 billion in upgrading the oil refinery at Mongstad. Retrospectively the reasons for the overexpenditure were attributed to bad planning, technical miscalculations...
that made the until then unassailable CEO Arve Johnsen
Arve Johnsen
Arve Johnsen is a Norwegian industrial executive and politician.He was educated in business administration with the degree siviløkonom from the Norwegian School of Economics and Business Administration in 1957 and in law with the degree cand.jur...
withdraw.
In the 1980s Statoil decided to become a fully integrated petroleum company and started building the Statoil
Statoil (fuel station)
Statoil is a chain of fuel stations operating in eight countries in Northern Europe. The chain is owned by Statoil and operates about 2,300 stations.-Stations:* Sweden: 805* Norway: 572* Denmark: 405* Poland: 297* Lithuania: 72* Latvia: 69...
fuel station brand. The stations in Norway originated as Norol stations while the stations in 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...
and Sweden
Sweden
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....
were purchased from Esso
Esso
Esso is an international trade name for ExxonMobil and its related companies. Pronounced , it is derived from the initials of the pre-1911 Standard Oil, and as such became the focus of much litigation and regulatory restriction in the United States. In 1972, it was largely replaced in the U.S. by...
in 1985, while the stations in Ireland were purchased from British Petroleum in 1992 and ConocoPhilips Jet in the mid '90s, then sold by Statoil to Topaz Oil
Topaz Energy
Topaz is an Irish petroleum retail chain, operating all over Ireland. The legal entity was formed in 2005 and previously traded under the Statoil and Shell brands, until 2008 when the "Topaz" brand replaced both in Ireland, partly due to the Corrib gas controversy. It is also the largest supplier...
in 2006. Statoil also built up a network of stations in part of Eastern Europe in the 1990s.
The company was privatised and made a public limited company
Public limited company
A public limited company is a limited liability company that sells shares to the public in United Kingdom company law, in the Republic of Ireland and Commonwealth jurisdictions....
(allmennaksjeselskap
Allmennaksjeselskap
Allmennaksjeselskap , or ASA, is the Norwegian term for a public limited company. "ASA" or "asa" is added to the company name of all Norwegian companies registered as Allmennaksjeselskap....
) in 2001, becoming listed on the both the Oslo Stock Exchange
Oslo Stock Exchange
The Oslo Stock Exchange serves as the main market for trading in the shares of Norwegian companies. It opens at 9:00am and closes 5:30pm local time...
and the New York Stock Exchange
New York Stock Exchange
The New York Stock Exchange is a stock exchange located at 11 Wall Street in Lower Manhattan, New York City, USA. It is by far the world's largest stock exchange by market capitalization of its listed companies at 13.39 trillion as of Dec 2010...
. At the same time it changed its name to Statoil ASA. The government still retained a majority ownership in the company. In 2007 Statoil bought a large area in the Athabasca oil sand field
Athabasca Oil Sands
The Athabasca oil sands are large deposits of bitumen, or extremely heavy crude oil, located in northeastern Alberta, Canada - roughly centred on the boomtown of Fort McMurray...
in Canada after purchasing North American Oil Sands Corporation for USD
United States dollar
The United States dollar , also referred to as the American dollar, is the official currency of the United States of America. It is divided into 100 smaller units called cents or pennies....
2.2 billion.
Hydro
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. 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. 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.
Merger
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. Statoil's shareholders hold 67.3% of the new company, with Norsk Hydro shareholders owning the remaining 32.7%. The Norwegian Government, the biggest shareholder in both Statoil and Norsk Hydro, holds 67% 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 Norwegian Prime Minister
Prime minister
A prime minister is the most senior minister of cabinet in the executive branch of government in a parliamentary system. In many systems, the prime minister selects and may dismiss other members of the cabinet, and allocates posts to members within the government. In most systems, the prime...
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."
It has been noted within the analyst community that a proposal will create an entity with much more competitive strength versus its much larger European rivals, including BP, Total
Total S.A.
Total S.A. is a French multinational oil company and one of the six "Supermajor" oil companies in the world.Its businesses cover the entire oil and gas chain, from crude oil and natural gas exploration and production to power generation, transportation, refining, petroleum product marketing, and...
and Shell
Royal Dutch Shell
Royal Dutch Shell plc , commonly known as Shell, is a global oil and gas company headquartered in The Hague, Netherlands and with its registered office in London, United Kingdom. It is the fifth-largest company in the world according to a composite measure by Forbes magazine and one of the six...
, while also increasing the ability of the company to make strategic acquisitions, particularly in the Gulf of Mexico
Gulf of Mexico
The Gulf of Mexico is a partially landlocked ocean basin largely surrounded by the North American continent and the island of Cuba. It is bounded on the northeast, north and northwest by the Gulf Coast of the United States, on the southwest and south by Mexico, and on the southeast by Cuba. In...
. It is the ninth largest oil company in the world, and would be the 48th largest company in the world on the current Fortune Global 500
Fortune Global 500
The Fortune Global 500 is a ranking of the top 500 corporations worldwide as measured by revenue. The list is compiled and published annually by Fortune magazine....
list with a revenue of NOK
Norwegian krone
The krone is the currency of Norway and its dependent territories. The plural form is kroner . It is subdivided into 100 øre. The ISO 4217 code is NOK, although the common local abbreviation is kr. The name translates into English as "crown"...
480 billion.
The company's management team was initially to be led by President and CEO Helge Lund
Helge Lund
Helge Lund is a Norwegian businessman who is the Chief Executive Officer for the Statoil group, and former CEO of Aker Kværner....
(who previously held the same posts at Statoil), with Eivind Reiten
Eivind Reiten
Eivind Kristofer Reiten is a Norwegian economist, corporate officer and politician for the Centre Party. He was a Minister of Fisheries and Minister of Petroleum and Energy during the 1980s, before entering a career in business. Reiten served as the Director General of Norsk Hydro between 2001...
, the President and CEO of Hydro, acting as Chairman. However, Eivind Reiten decided to resign as chairman three days after the merger because of a possible corruption case in Hydro's former oil division. The Vice-Chair and former Minister of Petroleum and Energy
Minister of Petroleum and Energy (Norway)
The Norwegian Minister of Petroleum and Energy is the head of the Royal Norwegian Ministry of Petroleum and Energy.- Councillor of State and Chief of the Ministry of Petroleum and Energy 1978 – 1992 :...
Marit Arnstad
Marit Arnstad
Marit Arnstad is a Norwegian lawyer and politician.Arnstad was born in Stjørdal. She held various jobs and offices before entering politics on a national level in 1993. That year, she was elected to the Storting and sat as a representative for the Centre Party from 1993 to 1997...
served as chairperson until 1 April, when Svein Rennemo
Svein Rennemo
Svein Rennemo is a Norwegian businessperson and chairman of StatoilHydro and Statnett.-Career:Rennemo grew up in Drammen. He was educated in economics, graduating with the cand.oecon. degree from the University of Oslo in 1971...
took up the post on a permanent basis after resigning as the CEO of the Norwegian oil services company Petroleum Geo-Services
Petroleum Geo-Services
Petroleum Geo-Services ASA, an oilfield service company, provides geophysical services worldwide. The company provides various seismic and reservoir services, including acquisition, processing, interpretation, and field evaluation. The floating production unit was demerged in 2006 and listed as a...
(PGS).
To reflect a merger of two companies and with regards of the minor partner, Hydro, it was decided that the joint company should be given a new name. An actual new name was not decided upon at the time of the merger, and StatoilHydro was created for temporary usage only. The firm announced its intention to revert to the name Statoil ASA, and this was approved by the Annual General Meeting in May 2009. The name was changed on 2 November 2009
Divestment
In early June 2011, Statoil ASA has divested 24.1 percent shares in GassledGassled
Gassled is a partnership to own the offshore natural gas transportation infrastructure on behalf of oil and gas companies operating at Norwegian continental shelf of North Sea. Gassled was created on 20 December 2002 and it became operational on 1 January 2003...
joint venture for NOK 17.35 billion ($3.25 billion) to Solveig Gas Norway AS and still has 5 percent shares in the JV.
Political and other controversies
Rotvoll protest
In 1991 a controversy arose between Statoil and local environmentalists, mainly from Natur og UngdomNatur og Ungdom
Natur og Ungdom which translates Nature and Youth, also known in English as Young Friends of the Earth Norway is a Norwegian youth environment protecting organisation. It is the only environmentalist youth organisation in Norway. 7000 members in 80 local groups work on environmental issues all...
and Friends of the Earth Norway, who protested the building of a new research and development
Research and development
The phrase research and development , according to the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development, refers to "creative work undertaken on a systematic basis in order to increase the stock of knowledge, including knowledge of man, culture and society, and the use of this stock of...
centre at Rotvoll
Rotvoll
Rotvoll is an area of Trondheim, Norway located between Leangen to the west and Ranheim to the east. The area has some suburban housing and is otherwise dominated by the StatoilHydro research facility and Sør-Trøndelag University College campus for teacher education...
in Trondheim
Trondheim
Trondheim , historically, Nidaros and Trondhjem, is a city and municipality in Sør-Trøndelag county, Norway. With a population of 173,486, it is the third most populous municipality and city in the country, although the fourth largest metropolitan area. It is the administrative centre of...
, Norway
Norway
Norway , officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic unitary constitutional monarchy whose territory comprises the western portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula, Jan Mayen, and the Arctic archipelago of Svalbard and Bouvet Island. Norway has a total area of and a population of about 4.9 million...
, wetlands area close to the city with significant bird life. The controversy was climaxed with civil disobedience
Civil disobedience
Civil disobedience is the active, professed refusal to obey certain laws, demands, and commands of a government, or of an occupying international power. Civil disobedience is commonly, though not always, defined as being nonviolent resistance. It is one form of civil resistance...
by the environmentalists, but the centre was still built.
Statoil/Horton case
The Statoil/Horton case refers to the company's use of bribes in IranIran
Iran , officially the Islamic Republic of Iran , is a country in Southern and Western Asia. The name "Iran" has been in use natively since the Sassanian era and came into use internationally in 1935, before which the country was known to the Western world as Persia...
in 2002–2003 in an attempt to secure lucrative oil contracts in that country. This was mainly achieved by hiring the services of Horton Investments, an Iranian consultancy firm owned by Mehdi Hashemi Rafsanjani, son of former Iranian President Hashemi Rafsanjani. Horton Investments was paid USD
United States dollar
The United States dollar , also referred to as the American dollar, is the official currency of the United States of America. It is divided into 100 smaller units called cents or pennies....
15.2 million by Statoil to influence important political figures in Iran to grant oil contracts to Statoil. The corruption scandal was uncovered by Norwegian paper Dagens Næringsliv
Dagens Næringsliv
Dagens Næringsliv, commonly known as DN, is a Norwegian tabloid specializing in business reporting with a claimed daily circulation of 82,775 copies in 2008, making it the 8th largest newspaper in Norway. The editor in chief is Amund Djuve. Its name is Norwegian for "Today's Business".Originally...
on September 3, 2003.
Corrib gas project
Statoil is a partner of Royal Dutch ShellRoyal Dutch Shell
Royal Dutch Shell plc , commonly known as Shell, is a global oil and gas company headquartered in The Hague, Netherlands and with its registered office in London, United Kingdom. It is the fifth-largest company in the world according to a composite measure by Forbes magazine and one of the six...
in the Corrib gas project, which entails developing a natural 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...
field off the northwest of Ireland
Ireland
Ireland is an island to the northwest of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth...
. The project has proved controversial with some Irish residents. In the summer of 2005, five men
Rossport Five
The Rossport Five are James Brendan Philbin, brothers Philip and Vincent McGrath, Willie Corduff and Micheál Ó Seighin. All five are from Kilcommon parish, Erris, County Mayo, Ireland and were jailed on 29 June 2005 by Justice Finnegan, President of the High Court of the Republic of Ireland, for...
from County Mayo
County Mayo
County Mayo is a county in Ireland. It is located in the West Region and is also part of the province of Connacht. It is named after the village of Mayo, which is now generally known as Mayo Abbey. Mayo County Council is the local authority for the county. The population of the county is 130,552...
were jailed for contempt of court after refusing to obey a temporary court injunction forbidding them to interfere with work being undertaken on their land. The ensuing protests led to the Shell to Sea
Shell to Sea
Shell to Sea is a campaign based in Cill Chomáin parish, Erris, County Mayo, Ireland which opposes the proposed construction of a natural gas pipeline through the parish and the ongoing construction by Royal Dutch Shell, Statoil and Vermilion Energy Trust of a refinery at Bellanaboy intended to...
campaign that opposes the project.
Libyan allegations
The possible consultancy agreements and transactions associated with Hydro’s operations in Libya are under investigation. In an article in AftenpostenAftenposten
Aftenposten is Norway's largest newspaper. It retook this position in 2010, taking it from the tabloid Verdens Gang which had been the largest newspaper for several decades. It is based in Oslo. The morning edition, which is distributed across all of Norway, had a circulation of 250,179 in 2007...
9 November 2007 the journalist Erling Borgen criticizes Helge Lund for Statoil's participation in corrupt and undemocratic
Democracy
Democracy is generally defined as a form of government in which all adult citizens have an equal say in the decisions that affect their lives. Ideally, this includes equal participation in the proposal, development and passage of legislation into law...
countries. Helge Lund has stated that it is not his or Statoil's intention to express opinions on such issues.
Management of art collection
The Statoil Art Programme, which was founded in the mid-1980s, has allegedly had its management breaching the ethical guidelines of International Council of Museums (ICOM)International Council of Museums
The International Council of Museums is an international organization of museums and museum professionals that is committed to the conservation, continuation and communication to society of the world's natural and cultural heritage, present and future, tangible and intangible.- Overview :Created...
, according to one of Aftenposten
Aftenposten
Aftenposten is Norway's largest newspaper. It retook this position in 2010, taking it from the tabloid Verdens Gang which had been the largest newspaper for several decades. It is based in Oslo. The morning edition, which is distributed across all of Norway, had a circulation of 250,179 in 2007...
's resident critics
Art critic
An art critic is a person who specializes in evaluating art. Their written critiques, or reviews, are published in newspapers, magazines, books and on web sites...
of art/architecture, as of October 2010.
North Sea
In March 2011, Statoil halted work on two North SeaNorth 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...
oil field projects because of higher taxes in the U.K. budget. In May 2011 they hired former MI6 chief John Scarlett
John Scarlett
Sir John McLeod Scarlett, KCMG, OBE was Director General of the British Secret Intelligence Service from 2004 to 2009...
as a strategic advisor.
Environmental record
Statoil and Shell were planning on building a gas-fired powerplant in Norway that would infuse CO2 underground or beneath the seabed, but they discarded the plan due to economic reasons.Statoil has injected CO2 into the Utsira formation on the Sleipner gas field
Sleipner gas field
The Sleipner gas field is a natural gas field in the North Sea, about west of Stavanger, Norway. Two parts of the field are in production, Sleipner West , and Sleipner East . The field produces natural gas and light oil condensates from sandstone structures about below sea level. It is operated...
for environmental storage purposes since 1996. Natural gas containing approximately 8.5% CO2 is produced on the Sleipner Vest field. The gas is transported to the Sleipner Treatment platform, where the CO2 is removed. The gas is exported to the UK, Germany and Belgium, and the CO2 is injected into the Utsira formation.
The world's first operational deep-water floating large-capacity wind turbine is the Hywind, launched by Statoil in 2009. The 2.3 MW turbine can be anchored in water 120–700 m deep. It will be tested off the coast of Norway
Norway
Norway , officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic unitary constitutional monarchy whose territory comprises the western portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula, Jan Mayen, and the Arctic archipelago of Svalbard and Bouvet Island. Norway has a total area of and a population of about 4.9 million...
for two years. The 120-meter-tall tower with a 2.3 MW turbine was towed 10 km offshore into the Amoy Fjord, in 220-meter-deep water, off of Stavanger, Norway on 2009-06-06 for a two year test run.
The unit became operational in the summer of 2009,
and was formally inaugurated on 8 September 2009.
The Hydrogen Technologies division, located in Notodden
Notodden
is a town and municipality in Telemark county, Norway. It is part of the traditional region of Øst-Telemark. The administrative centre of the municipality is the town of Notodden....
in the county of Telemark
Telemark
is a county in Norway, bordering Vestfold, Buskerud, Hordaland, Rogaland and Aust-Agder. The county administration is in Skien. Until 1919 the county was known as Bratsberg amt.-Location:...
, is widely regarded as a world leader in alkaline electrolysis
Electrolysis
In chemistry and manufacturing, electrolysis is a method of using a direct electric current to drive an otherwise non-spontaneous chemical reaction...
technology, used to generate hydrogen and oxygen from water.
When powered by clean, renewable energy sources, hydrogen represents an alternative energy storage medium that could one-day fill the void created when the world's fossil-fuel reserves have been fully depleted.
Sponsorship
On 23 December 2009, the International Ski FederationInternational Ski Federation
The International Ski Federation, known by its name in French, Fédération Internationale de Ski is the main international organisation for ski sports...
announced that Statoil will be an official sponsor of the FIS Nordic World Ski Championships 2011 that will be held in Oslo
Oslo
Oslo is a municipality, as well as the capital and most populous city in Norway. As a municipality , it was established on 1 January 1838. Founded around 1048 by King Harald III of Norway, the city was largely destroyed by fire in 1624. The city was moved under the reign of Denmark–Norway's King...
.