Erling Øverland, executive vice president for Statoil's Manufacturing & Marketing business area, has been presented with the Norwegian-American Trade Award in New York on behalf of Statoil Marketing & Trading in the USA.
The prize was awarded to Statoil's subsidiary in Connecticut by the Norwegian-American Chamber of Commerce for promoting commercial relations between the two countries.
Statoil exports some 600,000 barrels of crude daily to North America. Substantial quantities of gasoline are sent from Mongstad near Bergen, and liquefied petroleum gases (LPG) from Kårstø north of Stavanger. In the future the group will also ship liquefied natural gas (LNG) from the Snøhvit field to the Cove Point terminal in Maryland.
Commenting on the prize, Mr Øverland said: "The North American oil and products market and our shipments across the Atlantic are important to Statoil, and also for the security of energy supplies in this market. We therefore have clear common interests."
The Norwegian musicians, clarinettist Carl Petter Opsahl and mezzosoprano Tuva Semmingsen, entertained guests at a dinner held by the Chamber of Commerce in conjunction with the award.