Mongstad scandal

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The Mongstad scandal was a crisis in the

The company exceeded the

The first warnings of a budget overspend came on 25 September 1987, when the over-expenditure was estimated at NOK 3,8 billion. On 20 November most of the board of directors had to resign.^[1] The board was led by chairman Inge Johansen and deputy chairman Vidkunn Hveding since 1984. The other board members who also resigned were Thor Andreassen (member since 1978), Fredrik Thoresen (member since 1984), Guttorm Hansen (member since 1986) and Toril V. Lundestad (member since 1986). The only board members not to resign were the three employee representatives.^[2] Two days later chief executive officer Arve Johnsen also resigned, at the time the only CEO in the history of the company to resign. In January 1988 reports of a possibility of the overexpenditure accumulating another billion NOK were presented. By April the anticipated overspend was believed to be in the order of NOK 8 billion, although the final sum came to NOK 6 billion.

The enormous shock effect of the Mongstad scandal should be understood in the light of the social and political situation of Norway in 1988. Statoil was at the time a