History of Statoil (1972–2007)

Edit links
Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.

This article is about the company's history prior to the merger with Norsk Hydro. For the current company, see Equinor.

Statoil ASA
A Statoil petrol station sign in Estonia

Statoil

StatoilHydro until 2009, when the name was changed back to Statoil ASA. The brand Statoil was retained as a chain of fuel stations owned by StatoilHydro. Statoil was the largest petroleum company in the Nordic countries. In the 2013 Fortune 500, Statoil was ranked as the 39th -largest company in the world.[1] While Statoil was listed on both the Oslo Stock Exchange and the New York Stock Exchange, the Norwegian state still held majority ownership, with 64%. The company's headquarters are located in Norway's oil capital Stavanger
. The name Statoil was a truncated form of the State's oil (company).

Statoil was one of the largest net sellers of

Aker Kværner
.

History

Early years

Den Norske Stats Oljeselskap A/S (Norwegian State Oil Company) was founded as a private limited company owned by the

Minister of Petroleum and Energy
. Statoil was also required to submit an annual report to the parliament.

In 1973, the company started work acquiring a presence in the

Gullfaks field. 1987–88 saw the largest scandal in the companies history, the Mongstad scandal that made the until then unassailable CEO Arve Johnsen
withdraw.

Privatization

The company was privatised and made a

allmennaksjeselskap) in 2001, becoming listed on both the Oslo Stock Exchange and the New York Stock Exchange
. At the same time it changed its name to Statoil ASA.

Merger with Hydro

Main article:
StatoilHydro

In December 2006 Statoil revealed a proposal to merge with the oil business of

StatoilHydro, which started operations on 1 October 2007.[3][4] The company is the biggest offshore oil and gas company in the world.[4]

In November 2009, StatoilHydro changed its name to simply Statoil, following a prolonged name debate that sparked considerable public interest.[5][6]

Environmental record

Statoil had three oil spills in Arctic waters near Norway. All the spills occurred from its ocean rig called the Erik Raude. The company was searching for oil in the region, which environmentalists were against because they wanted the sensitive area free from pollution. However, the Norwegian government allowed oil exploration, as long as there were no emissions.[7] After the merger to StatoilHydro, in December 2007, 25,000 barrels (4,000 m3) of oil leaked into the North Sea. This was Statoil's 2nd worst oil spill.[8] Two leaks also occurred in February 2008. In March, Statoil dropped about 1.6 tons of pure hydraulic oil in the Barents Sea. Hydraulic oil is said to be the 2nd most hazardous pollutant.[9] Since the leaks, Statoil has stated that the oil has mostly dissolved, and there is not much proof of ecological harm. The Norwegian government has not stopped the oil drilling in the Arctic waters, and Statoil started up its oil operations in April 2005.[7] Bellona, a Norwegian environmental group, is looking to take legal action. They want the end of oil drilling in the Barents Sea.[9]

Controversy and corruption

Rotvoll controversy

Main article: Rotvoll controversy

In 1991 there arose a controversy between Statoil and local environmentalists, mainly from

wetlands area close to the city with significant bird life. The controversy was climaxed with civil disobedience
by the environmentalists, but the centre was still built.

Statoil corruption case

Further information: Statoil corruption case

The Statoil corruption case refers to the company's misconduct and use of corruption in

Hashemi Rafsanjani. Horton Investments was paid US$15.2 million by Statoil to influence important political figures in Iran to grant oil contracts to Statoil. The corruption scandal was uncovered by Norwegian paper Dagens Næringsliv
on 3 September 2003.

Corrib gas project

Main article: Corrib gas project

Statoil was a partner of

Royal Dutch Shell in the Corrib gas project, which entails developing a natural gas field off the west of Ireland. The project has proved controversial. In the summer of 2005, five men from County Mayo were jailed for contempt of court after refusing to obey a temporary court injunction forbidding them to interfere with work being undertaken on their land. The ensuing protests led to the Shell to Sea
campaign that opposes the project.

References

  1. ^ "Fortune 500". Retrieved 10 October 2020.
  2. ^ Hydro's oil and gas activities to merge with Statoil[permanent dead link], Norsk Hydro, published 2006-12-18, accessed 20 June 2007
  3. ^ a b EU regulators approve Statoil, Norsk Hydro merger, EU Business, published 2007-05-03, accessed 20 June 2007
  4. ^ a b c Norwegian Parliament Okays Statoil-Hydro Merger Archived 22 November 2007 at the Wayback Machine, Ocean-Resources, published 2007-06-11, accessed 20 June 2007
  5. ^ "StatoilHydro Changes Name to Statoil Launches New Logo | Petroleum Africa". www.petroleumafrica.com. Retrieved 26 April 2018.
  6. ^ Reuters Editorial. "StatoilHydro to postpone name change until 2009". U.S. Retrieved 26 April 2018. {{cite news}}: |author= has generic name (help)
  7. ^ a b Environmental News Network (13 April 2005). "Norway's Statoil Shuts Down Oil Drilling Rig After Arctic Oil Spill".
  8. ^ Reuters (14 December 2007). "North Sea oil spill off Norway largely "dissolved"". {{cite web}}: |author= has generic name (help)
  9. ^ a b Aftenposten (13 April 2005). "Bellona files charges after oil spill". Archived from the original on 21 August 2010.

External links

Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=History_of_Statoil_(1972–2007)&oldid=1209504181"