NORWEGIAN oil major StatoilHydro said yesterday it had achieved a strong operational performance in 2008, although its fourth quarter had been negatively affected by weaker oil prices.
Helge Lund, the company’s chief executive, said: “We have delivered record production and carried out our most active exploration programme ever. In 2008, we put 12 new fields on stream.
“Good operational performance is the best protection in times of uncertainty, and the merger (between Statoil and the oil and gas business of Norsk Hydro) is key to our continuous performance improvements.
“We have already realised significant merger synergies. The ongoing integration and standardisation of our offshore operations is aimed at further improving our health, safety and environment results, as well as increasing flexibility and efficiency.”
StatoilHydro said yesterday that net income for 2008 was £4.4billion, compared with £4.53billion the year before.
In the fourth quarter of 2008, net income was £204million against £630million a year earlier. It said total production of liquids and gas in 2008 was 1.925million barrels of oil equivalent (boe) per day, up 5% from 2007.
The group added that strong production and high prices contributed to net operating income of £20.2billion in 2008, compared with £13.94billion the previous year.
StatoilHydro said its proved reserves at the end of 2008 were 5.58billion boe, down from 6.01billion boe a year earlier.
It said the reserve replacement ratio was 34% in 2008, compared to 86% the year before, reflecting a high production rate and the time required to mature a significant number of recent discoveries and acquisitions of large unproved reserves to proved reserves.