Gullfaks from Saga to Statoil

When Saga was dissolved and the company taken over by Statoil and Norsk Hydro, it was the second time changes had been made to the Gullfaks licence. The first was during the so-called “wing clipping”, when Statoil’s ownership was reduced from 85 to 12 percent in favour of the SDFI – the State’s Direct Financial Interest.

For the employees on the three Gullfaks platforms, the changes were hardly noticeable – as Statoil, today Equinor, has always been the operator.

In the boardroom, the situation was different. The requirement that any changes always needed support from two companies meant that Statoil had to seek agreement with Hydro. This despite Hydro owning only 9 percent of the licence, while Statoil owned 18 percent. The SDFI owned the remaining 73 percent.