Goods and services purchased by Statoil in 1999 declined by roughly 19 per cent from the year before to NOK 34 billion.
By comparison with the record of NOK 44.4 billion set in 1997, last year's figure represented a reduction of 23.4 per cent.
Orders worth more than NOK 24 billion – 71 per cent of the 1999 total – were placed with Norwegian suppliers. These are based mostly in or around Stavanger, Bergen and Oslo.
The largest single contract awarded last year, totalling NOK 1.2 billion, went to Aker Offshore Partner for modifications to Gullfaks C in the North Sea.
This work formed part of the tie-in of the Gullfaks satellites project, which procured goods and services worth NOK 2.4 billion overall.
The Åsgard organisation in the Norwegian Sea placed orders totalling NOK 1.7 billion, while the figure for the Kårstø development project north of Stavanger was NOK 1.2 billion.
"Although our procurement was down last year from 1997 and 1998, it's still running at a very high level," says Peter J Tronslin, vice president for the corporate procurement and industry relations unit.
Fewer and to some extent smaller development projects will reduce demand for goods and services, he adds. However, the volume of production procurement remain relatively constant.