The success of efforts by Statoil to reduce carbon dioxide emissions per unit produced means that overall emissions were stable in 1998.
The group released 50.64 kilograms of carbon dioxide per tonne of product last year, as against 51.40 kilograms in 1997.
And total emissions of this greenhouse gas from Statoil-operated facilities on land and offshore came to roughly 7.6 million tonnes in 1998 - unchanged from the year before despite an expansion in activity.
This figure excludes Natural Gas Business Development, since that business area produces energy rather than hydrocarbons.
However, International Exploration & Production (INT) is included in the statistics for the first time, contributing some 69,000 tonnes to overall group emissions.
Oil Operations released 110,000 tonnes more than in 1997, partly because the water cut continues to rise on older fields and because production from other developments - such as Yme in the Norwegian North Sea - is more energy-intensive. Emissions per barrel produced have accordingly risen.
However, Natural Gas Production & Transport cut its carbon dioxide emissions by 130,000 tonnes from 1997. Measures to improve energy economics on the Sleipner fields in the North Sea contributed to this reduction.
Statoil's emissions of nitrogen oxides rose from 22,000 tonnes in 1997 to 24,300 tonnes, primarily because operations at Statoil Energy in the USA have been included in the figures for the first time.
Other newcomers to the statistics are Methanol and INT, where emissions per unit produced are relatively high. This meant that the overall quantity of nitrogen oxides released per tonne of product, measured in oil equivalent, rose slightly last year to 0.17 kilograms.
Statoil is generating new solutions to reduce emissions through its carbon dioxide programme. The group wants to identify the most cost-effective measures to curb emissions from its operations in Norway and internationally.
See related articles:
Best year for safety
Dramatic incidents down
Safety record at Mongstad