Cars can now be hired from Statoil throughout Europe, Australia and the USA under a deal with Germany's Sixt vehicle hire company.
The group's services in this area have previously been confined to Scandinavia.
In practice, the agreement means that Sixt customers visiting Norway, Sweden or Denmark will be able to hire a car from Statoil. Similarly, Statoil customers travelling outside these countries can reserve cars in every nation with Sixt representation.
The latter has a presence in 32 countries, and is particularly strong in Germany with 31 per cent of the market.
Founded in 1912 with seven vehicles, it now has a fleet of 140,000 cars and a customer centre at Rostock in Germany which handles all bookings for Europe.
Statoil has 6,000 cars for hire from 320 outlets in Scandinavia, and its car-hire arm is represented at four Norwegian airports. It will also soon be possible to hire vehicles from the group at Copenhagen's Kastrup airport.
"This deal offers benefits for both sides," says Bjørn Moe, who heads Statoil's car hire business in Scandinavia