In a press release Statoil announces that the company`s office in Stavanger was this week subject to an inspection by the EFTA Surveillance Authority (ESA), assisted by the Norwegian Competition Authority (Konkurransetilsynet). The inspection is carried out on request of the European Commission. - The authorities suspect that several companies, including Statoil, has participated in anti-competitive agreements, beyond that we have no further information at this point, says Jannik Lindbæk in Statoil. Such practices are a violation of Article 53 of the EEA Agreement. In addition the inspection relates to potential abuse of possible dominant position by another party, contrary to Article 54 of the EEA Agreement. The suspected violations are related to the Platts’ Market-On-Close (MOC) price assessment process, used to report prices in particular for crude oil, refined oil products and biofuels, and may have been on-going since 2002.

Source: E24.no

Along with Greenpeace, the indigenous group Beaver Lake Cree is currently in Stavanger in connection with Statoil's annual general meeting. There they will make it clear why Statoil should pull out of the oil sands project. The indigenous group has previously sued the Alberta Province and Canada for giving rights to oil companies like Statoil, and now it is clear that they are getting the case in court next year. - Statoil has gradually forced into our areas, says Tina Lameman representing the Beaver Lake Cree. Martin Norman in Greenpeace will also attend the demonstration outside Statoil`s general meeting. – Our main mission is that Statoil stop the nonsense they are doing, says Norman. During the last five years Lameman and her father have prosecuted Canada and Alberta that have granted licenses to companies as Statoil. The reason why this has taken so long is that the Canadian government and the Alberta province has appealed in every instance. But now it is determined that the case will end up in court next year.

Source: NRK.no

Several finance professors believe the Norwegian government should consider selling its shares in Statoil. The reasons are the government's climate policy and the Statoil`s efforts abroad. The state owns 67 percent of the shares in the company, and economics professor in economics at University of Oslo Tore Nilssen believe it is time to consider whether this should change. - It is about time that we take a proper debate about the government`s ownership in Statoil. In my opinion the government should sell out or at least sell down its shares in the company, says Nilssen. He has noticed Statoil`s eager to investment abroad, and he believe that it isn`t the government's task to support such efforts. - There is a huge gap between investing in rainforest and investing in oil sands. The Norwegian authorities are deliberately in a wide split. The state's ownership could be used to make the gap smaller, but it would require a more active ownership in individual cases, says Nilssen. Several other experts share the professors' views, but many fear that relocation will be the result if the government withdraws from the company.

Source: Petro.no

In the government’s proposed revised spring budget, they give their forecasts for future income/revenue from the NCS. The revenue for 2014 is expected to fall from the expected NOK 348 bn (€ 46.1 bn) this year to NOK 304 bn (€ 40.2 bn). The government and the Ministry for Finance believe that the oil price will fall to about USD 90 in 2014, and they further expect a decline in the demand for natural gas. Independent analyst Torbjørn Kjus at Norway’s largest banking corporation, DNB, says in a comment that he shares the forecast given by government, and with a further outlook to 2015, he sees the oil price falling towards USD 80 per barrel.

Source: Aftenbladet.no