Statoil and Hydro have been the two most central players in the Norwegian oil industry since the early 1970s. Both companies have made key contributions to developing Norway into a modern industrial nation.
Name change: The new signs were already in place at StatoilHydro's office in Stavanger when employees arrived for work on the morning of October 1.(Photo: Øyvind Hagen)
StatoilHydro became a reality on October 1, 2007, after the plan for the merger was announced between Statoil and Hydro's oil and gas division on December 18, 2006. The Norwegian parliament, the Storting, approved the merger plan in June 2007, and the new company has both the size and the strength to expand internationally.
Statoil and Hydro have been the most important players in the Norwegian oil industry, with proud traditions of expertise and innovation stretching back to the early 1970s.
Both companies have contributed strongly to developing Norway into a modern industrial nation. Today, Norway is one of the world's most productive petroleum provinces and a test lab for technology development.
Hydro's history began in 1905 with the establishment of Norsk hydro-elektrisk Kvælstofaktieselskab to produce nitrogen-based mineral fertilizer. Later, Norsk Hydro expanded into metals, and in the late 1960s the company took its first steps into the oil industry through its participation in the Ekofisk field. At the time of the merger, Hydro was operator for 13 oil and gas fields on the Norwegian continental shelf.
In 1972, the Norwegian State Oil Company, Statoil, was formed, and two years later the Statfjord field was discovered in the North Sea. In 1979, the Statfjord field commenced production, and in 1981 Statoil was the first Norwegian company to be given operator responsibility for a field, at Gullfaks in the North Sea. At the time of the merger, Statoil was operator for 39 oil and gas fields on the Norwegian continental shelf.
