"Statoil has acknowledged the cost overruns which have occurred in the Åsgard project, and we have taken the challenges seriously," says executive vice president Terje Vareberg.
"We have kept our cards on the table throughout the process, and provided our partners, the authorities and the media with detailed information about cost developments.
"At the same time, we're implementing a project described by the technical editor of Oil & Gas Journal, the world's leading oil magazine, as 'the most daring and complex subsea project ever launched'."
Despite the cost overruns, Mr Vareberg says, Statoil's personnel in the Åsgard development and their colleagues can stand tall and be proud of what the group is achieving on this field.
Chief executive Harald Norvik has headed the group since taking over from Arve Johnsen in February 1988. Mr Vareberg worked at Statoil in 1978-83, and rejoined the staff in 1989.