Norway energy giant Statoil Q3 net income down 28 per cent

Oct 27, 2011, 7:37 GMT

Oslo - Norwegian energy group Statoil's third-quarter net income dropped 28 per cent, mainly over higher tax rates and lower gains on net financial items, it said Thursday.

Net income for the quarter was 9.9 billion kroner (1.8 billion dollars) compared to 13.8 billion kroner in the corresponding 2010 business period.

Revenues in the quarter were 166.4 billion kroner, up 32 per cent year-on-year, the state-controlled group said.

Statoil said its average daily oil and gas output was some 1.57 million barrels of oil equivalent per day during the quarter. A year ago, daily output was 1.37 million barrels of oil equivalent.

The increase was attributed to production from new fields and increased production from existing fields.

The average third-quarter oil price measured in Norwegian kroner was up 30 per cent year-on-year, while the average natural gas price was 13 per cent higher, the group said.

For 2011, Statoil predicted production to be slightly below the 2010 level.

During the quarter the group drilled 13 exploration wells, including four outside the Norwegian continental shelf. The wells on the Norwegian continental shelf resulted in discoveries, Statoil said. It recently reported a big find in the North Sea, west of Stavanger.

'The giant Aldous/Avaldsnes discovery clearly reaffirms the strong potential of the Norwegian continental shelf,' chief executive Helge Lund said in a comment.