Wintershall Norge has opened its new main office building in Stavanger, Norway.
Norway’s Minister of Labour, Anniken Hauglie, officially opened the building.
The Conservative politician, who has been Minister of Labour and Social Inclusion since December 2015, also welcomed the new jobs being created by the firm.
She said: “The opening of Wintershall’s new headquarters shows that the Norwegian Continental Shelf offers huge opportunities and demonstrates that Norway is an attractive place to do business for international actors.”
Wintershall has increased its personnel in Norway from 50 employees to 500 between 2009 and 2015.
With this growth the Norwegian oil and gas company recognised the opportunity in building one main building to house all its employees.
The new building, located in Hinna Park, is constructed to high environmental standards, and is one of the first in Norway to reach the benchmark BREEAM-NOR Excellent rating.
Bernd Schrimpf, Wintershall Norge managing director said: “By bringing together all our Stavanger colleagues under one roof, we are more efficient, and more productive.
“Today we share knowledge and collaborate even more closely than we did before.
“In addition, modern communication technology in our new building means we can work with our colleagues and stakeholders in other parts of the world in the most effective way possible.”
Wintershall Norge has a share in around 60 licenses on the Norwegian Continental Shelf and operates more than half. Since 2012, the company has become one of Norway’s biggest producers, raising daily production from 3,000 barrels of oil equivalent (boe) in 2012 to more than 80,000 boe today.
Martin Bachmann, executive director responsible for exploration and production in Europe and Middle East, said: “This is a performance to be proud of, but it’s certainly not the end of the story.
“On the contrary. We are committed to consistently developing our projects and partnerships – and to continue to invest in Norway. Our pledge remains in place: we are here to stay.”
Wintershall Norge is operator of the 15.3 billion NOK Maria development in the Norwegian Sea. Throughout its lifetime, the subsea field will return substantial value to Norway through jobs and tax revenue, said Bachmann.
Bachmann added: “Maria is Wintershall’s flagship development on the Norwegian Shelf, and the first field we are bringing all the way from discovery to production.
“It is our biggest single investment in Norway, and over the next 25 years this field will create around 35,000 man-years of work and will provide significant income for Norwegian society.”
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