Hydro Oil News

Statoil’s board of directors has appointed Eldar Sætre as the company’s new president and CEO. Sætre, who has 35 years’ experience from Statoil and the oil and gas industry, has been acting as president and CEO since October, and assumes the role with immediate effect. "Eldar Sætre was our first choice. The industry and company are facing demanding challenges. Eldar stands out with his long experience and ability to create change. Those are qualities we need in times like these. I am extra pleased that we were able to recruit the next CEO from within Statoil," said Statoil’s chair of the Board, Svein Rennemo. Sætre has extensive operational and financial experience from Statoil. He has been a member of the Corporate executive committee since 2003.

Statoil President and CEO Helge Lund has informed the company's board of directors that he will resign. Helge Lund has chosen to leave Statoil to take up the position as CEO of another international oil and gas company. The board of directors has appointed Eldar Sætre as acting president and CEO of Statoil with immediate effect. According to a Reuters report, Statoil's long-serving chief executive will take on the top role at smaller rival BG, where he has been promised a big pay rise if he can turn round the flagging British gas and oil producer.

Jan Arve Haugan has been appointed President and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Kvaerner. This new engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) company is being established through a demerger of Aker Solutions. Kvaerner will be separate and listed on the Oslo stock exchange, most likely in July this year. Jan Arve Haugan started his professional career in the Norwegian construction company F. Selmer (now part of Skanska), and in 1991 he joined the Norwegian industrial group Norsk Hydro as chief engineer for the Oseberg field development as a key task. Since then he has had leading positions in many of Hydro's oil and gas projects and operations.

As of Nov. 10, Øystein Michelsen, Helga Nes and Gunnar Myrebøe have been appointed members of StatoilHydro's corporate executive committee. Mr. Michelsen will take up the position as executive vice president for the Exploration & Production Norway business area, Mr. Myrebøe is to hold the same post in the Projects business area and Ms. Nes will lead the area for corporate staffs and services. Øystein Michelsen graduated as Master of Science from the Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU) in 1980. He joined Hydro in 1981, starting at Hydro's research center in Porsgrunn. In 1985 he started in Hydro Oil & Energy where his posts included safety manager for the Brage project…

Mr. Breivik will succeed Hilde Merete Aasheim who will leave StatoilHydro on the same date to take up her new position as executive vice president of Aluminium Metal in Norsk Hydro. Gunnar Breivik is currently senior vice president of StatoilHydro's health, safety and environment cluster. Mr. Breivik will continue to hold the responsibility for this field as well. After completing his chemical engineering studies as a chartered engineer at the of Science and Technology (NTNU) in 1981, Mr. Breivik was employed by Phillips Petroleum before he started working for Norsk Hydro in 1985. Gunnar Breivik held a number of positions in Hydro Oil & Energy…

Østensjø Rederi AS of Haugesund, Norway has received Ajax, one of the most powerful dedicated tanker escort tugs in the world, and the most powerful in Europe, for service on the west coast of Norway. Constructed by Astilleros Zamakona S.A. of Vizcaya/Bilbao, Spain, beginning in early 1999, the tug was built in accordance with DNV Regulations as an Escort Tug, with Fire-Fighter I and Oil Recovery certification, and also in full compliance with the National Regulations of the Norwegian Maritime Directorate. Created by Robert Allan Ltd., the design of this powerful new tug incorporates a number of unique hull form developments which are the result of an extensive series of model tests and research by the firm over the past several years into the performance of escort tugs.

Østensjø Rederi AS of Haugesund, Norway has received Ajax, one of the most powerful dedicated tanker escort tugs in the world, and the most powerful in Europe, for service on the west coast of Norway. Constructed by Astilleros Zamakona S.A. of Vizcaya/Bilbao, Spain, beginning in early 1999, the tug was built in accordance with DNV Regulations as an Escort Tug, with Fire-Fighter I and Oil Recovery certification, and also in full compliance with the National Regulations of the Norwegian Maritime Directorate. Created by Robert Allan Ltd., the design of this powerful new tug incorporates a number of unique hull form developments which are the result of an extensive series of model tests and research by the firm over the past several years into the performance of escort tugs.

Stolt Offshore S.A. announced that it had been awarded a contract valued at approximately $50 million by Hydro Oil and Energy for the installation of an export pipeline from the Njord FPU to the Asgard transportation pipeline. The contract is for the installation of 40 kilometers of twelve inch diameter pipe together with the design, fabrication and installation of associated structures, trenching, rock dumping and the tie-in of the pipeline. Engineering work for this project has now started. The installation work will take place in 2006 and 2007. Øeyvind Mikaelsen, Vice President for the Northern Europe and Canada region, said "This award, following the Langeled and Ormen Lange pipeline contracts, demonstrates that we are successfully focusing on meeting our customers' requirements.

Statoil and Hydro have completed a value verification process following the agreement between the companies' boards of directors to merge Hydro's oil and gas activities with Statoil. The intention of the review has been to verify the information exchanged between the parties prior to the conclusion of the agreement. In connection with the publicising of the merger on 18 December 2006, Statoil's net interest-bearing debt was estimated to be NOK 14.3 billion at 31 December 2006. It is now expected that Statoil's net interest-bearing debt will be NOK 24-25 billion at 31 December 2006. The main reason for this change is associated with fluctuations in the working capital.