A second service station was opened by Statoil in the north Russian port of Murmansk on 8 April, while work on a third forecourt is due to start in early June.
Governor Yuri Yevdokimov opened the new facility together with Paul Luxhøj, head of international operations in Marketing.
Plans call for the third station to be completed during 1999. Statoil is the only foreign petrol retailer to have established itself in the Murmansk area, which already has just over 20 Russian forecourts.
The group plans to establish 10 stations in the province, which has roughly a million residents, reports Peter Damsgaard, who recently took over as head of the marketing subsidiary in Murmansk.
All the first three stations are located in the city, which is home to roughly 500,000 people.
Statoil sold just over 10 million litres of motor fuel from its first Murmansk station in 1998, equivalent to sales from its very largest forecourts in Norway.
The Russian facility also sells groceries, mostly from local food producers, as well as beer and spirits in line with Russian practice.
Each of the Murmansk stations will have roughly 20 staff.