Statoil balances state demands with shareholders interests
Statoil is a model for other NOCs, neatly balancing the needs of its state controller with the urges of its private shareholders
Statoil is a curious beast. It is both NOC and IOC, with characteristics of each. Like a typical NOC, it is dominant in its home territory, and is widely viewed as Norway’s national champion. Yet the company has the clout and global reach of an IOC. This is due in large part to the company’s partial privatisation. As with Petrobras, Statoil’s closest peer in the NOC sphere, the state retains a majority stake in the company (67.3% in Statoil’s case). However, Statoil is accountable to its other, non-state shareholders and releases a portion of its profit via dividend payments. The company’s operations, therefore, come under the scrutiny of both the state and private investors, and it must ope
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