2. December 20253. December 2025 by trude

Who Owns Reality? Part 1

Trude Meland

In the autumn of 1986, Statoil stood at a crossroads. After years of preparation, production began on Gullfaks – the company’s first major field as operator. What was meant to be a triumph was quickly overshadowed by a dramatic drop in oil prices. A large operations organization had to be restructured, and Gullfaks was hit particularly hard. Trust between employees and management suffered a serious blow – a crisis that would take years to mend.

A story in nine parts.

— The new administration building at Sandsli, with its 25,000 square meters and more than 700 offices spread over four floors, became one of the largest office workplaces in Bergen. Photo: Lars Gunnar Dahle/Equinor

The autumn of 1986 marked a milestone for Statoil. After years of planning and development, production was finally set to begin on Gullfaks – the company’s great masterpiece and its first major field as operator. But just as optimism peaked, oil prices plummeted. What was meant to be a triumph quickly turned into a challenge.
The organization, painstakingly built to manage a large-scale operational unit, now faced a demanding restructuring. Staffing changes hit Gullfaks particularly hard. Such changes rarely come without resistance, and it didn’t take long before a crisis of trust emerged between employees and management – a crisis that would take years to heal.
A story in nine chapters.

“The Gold Must Come Home!”

In 1982, the Gullfaks Production Organization (GP) was formally established in Bergen as part of Statoil’s first major project as operator. Since the company had no existing operations organization to build on, GP became a key player in shaping and realizing Statoil’s development as an operating company.[REMOVE]Fotnote: Arbeidsforskningsinstitutt. Rapport 4/1986. Gullfaks produksjon – en organisasjon i rask vekst

The only relevant reference project Statoil had was its experience from the development of the Statfjord organization, where Mobil was still the operator. Statoil, as the largest stakeholder, followed the process closely, fully aware that it would eventually take over operatorship—something that happened on 1 January 1987, shortly after Gullfaks A began production.

Statoil was awarded operatorship for block 34/10 (later Gullfaks) in June 1978, and the first discovery was made that same year. Planning for the organization began immediately.[REMOVE]Fotnote: https://equinor.industriminne.no/gullfaks-den-store-svenneproven/ In autumn 1980, the license organization was established with headquarters in Stavanger, but it had already been decided that operations would be based in Bergen.

The first office in Bergen opened in 1980 in rented premises on Lars Hilles gate, with only two employees.[REMOVE]Fotnote: Status. (1980) Vol. 7 Nr. 8. Nye avdelingskontorer i Bergen, Kristiansund og Trondheim. The main organization remained in Stavanger for the time being. The Gullfaks organization played a key role in Statoil’s development—not only as the company’s first production unit, but also as a model for future field organizations. It was intended to provide training and eventually supply personnel to new projects, at a time when experienced production workers were in short supply in Norway.

The Gullfaks organization was therefore tasked with responsibilities that had significant implications at the corporate level, in addition to the operational challenges of running the field.

In 1982, Gullfaks Production was formally established, and the organization moved into new offices at Solheimsgaten 23 at Danmarksplass. Two years later, in autumn 1984, the new office building at Sandsli was completed. The organization was built up in stages—first the onshore organization, then the platform organizations.[REMOVE]Fotnote: Arbeidsforskningsinstitutt. Thoralf Ulrik Quale, Jorun Solheim, Rolf Haugen. Gullfaks Produksjon – en organisasjon i rask vekst. AI-dok. 4/86. s. 3

By the end of 1982, GP had 88 employees. This number grew to 181 in 1983 and 370 in 1984, of whom 90 were designated for offshore positions. It was a period marked by impermanence and constant change. The establishment of the platform organizations began with Gullfaks A in autumn 1984, followed by Gullfaks B in spring 1985 and later Gullfaks C.

Many of the employees had been involved since the beginning in 1980, and several had participated in training programs abroad, including in the United States. When system testing of Gullfaks A began, both job responsibilities and organizational structure changed. Offshore employees were relocated to Stord, where the deck was nearing completion, to test the platform systems in practice.

As early as 1985, cultural differences began to emerge between the onshore organization and the platforms. Three main cultures developed: a technical engineering culture, an academic case-handling culture, and an operational platform culture.[REMOVE]Fotnote: Arbeidsforskningsinstitutt. Thoralf Ulrik Quale, Jorun Solheim, Rolf Haugen. Gullfaks Produksjon – en organisasjon i rask vekst. AI-dok. 4/86. s. 50. Previously, the onshore organization had led the development, but now the platform became the natural centre of operations. The role of the onshore organization shifted to support rather than control—something that many perceived as a form of alienation. The platform’s reality became the dominant reality.

By the beginning of 1989, Gullfaks Production had grown to around 1,600 employees – 1,000 offshore on Gullfaks A, B, and C, and over 600 at the Sandsli office in Bergen.[REMOVE]Fotnote: Eldegard, Tom m.fl. (1989). Lokale leveranser til petroleumsfelt i drift. Eksempelet Gullfaks. Næringsøkonomisk institutt. Nr. 112/1989. s. 11.