In August 1999, the board of the Norwegian oil company Statoil submitted a report on the future organisation and ownership structure of Statoil and on the state's "direct financial interest" (Statens direkte økonomiske engasjement, SDØE) in petroleum operations. The report recommends a partial privatisation of Statoil, and that all or a major part of SDØE's assets are transferred to Statoil. Statoil is a 100% state-owned oil company established in 1972, which operates on a commercial basis.
In August 1999, the board of the Norwegian oil company Statoil recommended its partial privatisation and called for all or a major part of the assets of the state's direct financial interest in petroleum operations to be transferred to Statoil. Trade unions support the basic principles of the recommendation, but do not want to see the state lose its majority stake and its direct involvement in Norwegian petroleum activity.
In August 1999, the board of the Norwegian oil company Statoil submitted a report on the future organisation and ownership structure of Statoil and on the state's "direct financial interest" (Statens direkte økonomiske engasjement, SDØE) in petroleum operations. The report recommends a partial privatisation of Statoil, and that all or a major part of SDØE's assets are transferred to Statoil. Statoil is a 100% state-owned oil company established in 1972, which operates on a commercial basis.
The SDØE was established in 1985 by dividing Statoil's holding in most Norwegian offshore licences into an equity share for the company and an equity share for the state. Since 1985, and through the SDØE, the state has become directly involved in oil activity on the Norwegian continental shelf, and the SDØE's net surplus is poured into the state budget. Statoil is responsible for the operational and financial management of the SDØE.
The Statoil report is just one of a number of contributions to the debate concerning the state's role in the national oil sector, and the future organisation of petroleum activities in Norway. The issue has been forced onto the agenda during the last year as a consequence of the recent problems witnessed in the Norwegian oil sector, with long periods of relatively low oil prices, decreasing investments and worries about future job losses (NO9909149F).
The Norwegian Oil and Petrochemical Workers Union (Norsk Olje- og Petrokjemisk Fagforbund, NOPEF), which is affiliated to the Norwegian Trade Union Confederation (Landsorganisasjonen i Norge, LO), agrees with the main principles of Statoil's report. However, NOPEF does not want to see the state lose its majority share in either Statoil or the SDØE. LO has so far not discussed the issue, but stresses that the main objective is to secure that petroleum activities are organised in the best way for the Norwegian society in both a short- and long-term perspective. The Federation of Offshore Workers Trade Unions (Oljearbeidernes Fellessammenslutning, OFS), which also organises employees in the petroleum sector, is sceptical about any privatisation of Statoil. A committee of state secretaries, headed by the State Secretary at the Ministry of Petroleum and Energy, has been appointed to deliberate on the future of Statoil and the SDØE, and its findings will be presented to the Norwegian parliament in a white paper in spring 2000. The government has asked the relevant companies, and the social partners concerned, to comment on the issue.
Eurofound recommends citing this publication in the following way.
Eurofound (1999), Consensus about partial privatisation of Statoil, article.
