Activity high in second quarter

“We passed a number of important milestones during the second quarter in our long-term efforts to develop Statoil,” says chief executive Helge Lund.

A year after taking office as president and CEO of the group, he reviews the principal strategic challenges which have been identified.

“Put simply, we are going to maximise value creation on the Norwegian continental shelf while also building long-term international growth.”

Projects

No less than nine projects have been sanctioned on the NCS so far this year, including six in the second quarter, involving a total investment for all the licensees of more than NOK 40 billion.

They include such important developments as Statfjord late life in the North Sea and Tyrihans in the Norwegian Sea.

“These projects will provide new production in coming years,” Mr Lund observes.

“I’m also pleased that the Snøhvit process plant has been installed in the dock at Melkøya and that the Kristin platform is being readied for production out on the field.”

International

Activity has also been high in Statoil’s international business during the second quarter.

The group made its largest-ever acquisition outside Norway in April with the purchase of EnCana’s deepwater portfolio in the Gulf of Mexico for USD 2 billion.

A general agreement was also concluded with Russia’s Gazprom and Norway’s Norsk Hydro on collaboration over technology development and mapping petroleum resources in the far north.

“Both the Gulf of Mexico transaction and the commitment to the Barents Sea are important building blocks for long-term growth,” observes Mr Lund.

“At the same time, we’re also starting to see results internationally. Production from fields outside Norway rose by 77 per cent compared with the second quarter of 2004, which confirms that we’re on target in developing the international business.”

Focus

The sale of Statoil’s interest in the Borealis petrochemicals group during June permits a stronger focus on the core business.

That in turn will strengthen Statoil’s development opportunities as an internationally-competitive oil and gas company.

Mr Lund says he is impressed at the Statoil organisation’s expertise and ability to deliver, but emphasises that the high level of activity calls for a continued commitment.

And continuous improvement work is needed with health, safety and the environment. The main HSE indicators show an improvement in the second quarter compared with the same period of 2004.

“We can still get even better, and the goal of zero harm remains unchanged,” Mr Lund says.