Norway’s government, which has called for greater competition in the country’s oil industry, wants Statoil ASA and Lundin Petroleum AB to remain rivals after the two companies deepened ties this month.
Norwegian energy giant Statoil increased its interest in Sweden’s Lundin to 20.1 percent from 11.9 percent on May 3, after saying previously it had no plans to do so. Statoil has since said it won’t raise its stake further, while Lundin has also insisted it’s not for sale.
“I’m very happy to see that Statoil and Lundin, and their owners, are very clear on the fact that Statoil’s investment in Lundin is a purely financial investment,” Norway’s Petroleum and Energy Minister Tord Lien said Tuesday in an interview in Oslo. “My cabinet is very supportive of increased competitiveness on the Norwegian continental shelf.”
The Nordic nation, which has seen its crude output fall by half since 2000, has sought to attract more companies to compete with state-controlled Statoil, which operates more than 70 percent of Norway’s petroleum output. While the country has had some success in bringing in explorers, it’s now seeking more investment in development and production, a much more capital-intensive industry.
Takeover Speculation
Statoil has said its shareholding in Lundin increases its exposure to assets such as the Johan Sverdrup oil field in the North Sea, the biggest discovery in Norway in recent years. The company’s move to expand its stake prompted analysts including Danske Bank A/S’s Anders Holte to suggest it could be studying a complete takeover. Lien declined to comment on “speculation.”
“As far as I can see we still have two independent competitors on the Norwegian continental shelf, two independent boards, and there is a financial exposure from Statoil to resources that we also strongly believe in,” the minister said.
Statoil Chief Financial Officer Hans Jakob Hegge reiterated Wednesday that the company has no plans to increase its stake further in Lundin.
“We are quite happy where we are,” Hegge said in an interview with Bloomberg Television.
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