A sales contract covering roughly 300 million cubic metres of gas per annum for a new Norwegian power station has been awarded to Statoil by electricity generator Statkraft.
Deliveries to the planned Naturkraft installation at Kårstø north of Stavanger are scheduled to start on 1 October 2007.
“We’re very pleased to have secured this substantial domestic order,” says Rune Bjørnson, executive vice president of Statoil’s Natural Gas business area.
Statkraft owns Naturkraft 50-50 with Hydro, and the deal with Statoil will cover its share of the fuel requirement for the power station.
“Demand for gas is high throughout the European market,” observes Mr Bjørnson.
“We’re gratified to have also reached agreement on delivering to the Norwegian market with terms which are acceptable to both us as the supplier and Statkraft as the buyer.”
This contract represents a big increase in Statoil’s gas sales to mainland Norway. The company already has gas sales agreements in Norway with Statoil Methanol, Tjeldbergodden Luftgassfabrikk and Gasnor.
In 2004, gas consumption in Norway amounted to some 860 million cubic metres. Of this, Statoil accounted for deliveries of some 600 million cubic metres, which covered its own gas and that of the Norwegian state's direct financial interest (SDFI).
The Statoil-operated industrial plant at Tjeldbergodden in mid-Norway represents about 90 per cent of total industrial consumption of natural gas in Norway.
Statoil is technical service provider for the Kårstø gas treatment plant on behalf of operator Gassco. It sold out of Naturkraft in 2004 and has no stake in the planned power station.