Offshore suppliers in Norway and abroad rate Statoil as the oil company they like doing business with best, according to a recent survey.
Carried out by the MMI market research institute in March, this study involved interviews with 198 companies selling goods and services to the group.
Before being told who had commissioned the survey, 75 per cent of respondents had placed Statoil among the three companies they preferred to work with – assuming that the volume of sales and potential for profit was the same for all customers.
And 53 per cent placed Statoil first among these three.
In addition, 96 per cent of the suppliers polled agreed wholly or partly that the group is a reliable player trusted by the market, and a customer which follows up deliveries.
Similar surveys were carried out in 1996 and 1998, and Statoil's reputation among suppliers has steadily improved.
On a scale from zero to 10, it achieved an average score this year of 7.3 when respondents were asked to express their overall satisfaction with the group as a purchaser of goods and services.
Stein Erland Brun, who has been responsible for the survey on behalf of Statoil, says that the way it treats actual and potential suppliers has a strong impact on its reputation among leading community players and the general public.
And he believes an objective study of this kind has considerable utility.
"A good relationship with the supplies industry is crucial if we're going to pursue our business in a good way."