“I believe any effect will relate primarily to exploration activities ... investment and costs needed to safeguard output in the short and medium term will be much less affected."

Income after financial items was NOK 114.3 billion for the first nine months, compared with NOK 80.9 billion for the same period 2007. This strong increase reflects higher oil and gas prices.

“The fact that we have already exceeded last year’s very good result after nine months reflects the very high prices we have enjoyed during 2008,” says Marion Svihus, chief financial officerat Petoro AS, which manages the SDFI.

“But the sharp fall in prices this autumn is a matter of concern, particularly since we still don’t know if the decline has bottomed-out.

“Even after this dramatic drop, however, oil prices remain historically high. This has been reinforced lately by a stronger exchange rate for the US dollar, the currency in which oil is traded.”

Ms Svihus says that the results emphasis the great significance of direct government ownership of oil and gas for the Norwegian economy.

“That makes it all the more important to take care of these huge national assets in a professional, commercial manner,” she adds.

“The government must ensure that the instrument it has created to do that job is continuously calibrated in relation to the work involved and to changing circumstances.”

On the basis of a Petoro assessment, Ms Svihus does not think at the moment that the impact of the financial crisis on the Norwegian continental shelf will be very great.

“I believe any effect will relate primarily to exploration activities, and the investment and costs needed to safeguard output in the short and medium term will be much less affected."

“This picture is reinforced when you also consider the players involved. Norway’s big producing fields are dominated by large and financially sound oil companies, while exploration activity includes the many new participants to a greater extent. Some of the latter are very small and far less sound financially.

“In such a position, it will be even more important for us in Petoro to use our long-term approach, our state ownership and our position as the largest partner on the NCS to work for good and robust solutions, both immediately and in a longer perspective.”

Tags: Petoro