Statoil to Keep Investing in Major Projects Despite Oil Prices Crash

Investment needs to be continued as the demand for hydrocarbon resources will grow in the long term as they are diminishing, the Statoil's executive vice president noted.

MOSCOW, January 20 (Sputnik) — Energy giant Statoil will keep investing in major projects, including exploration, despite falling oil prices, the company's Executive Vice President Tim Dodson said at a press conference Tuesday.

"Our business is a long-term business and the decisions which we make have to be based on long-term price assumptions. Of course in the short term when your income is halved you have to stop and think what do we do now, do we continue to spend as much money. We can't just stop spending money, we have to invest for the long term, to explore, to find new resources for the future, Dodson said.

Dodson pointed out that the current crisis is not the first one in the history of the industry. Investment needs to be continued as the demand for hydrocarbon resources will grow in the long term as the resources are diminishing, he noted.

"What I know that the industry is finding less oil that it is produced. The oil stock on this planet is diminishing. But the oil demand in 2040 and 2050 will be more," Dodson said.

The news follows the decision by several energy giants, including Royal Dutch Shell, Premier Oil, Tullow Oil and BP, to cut expenses by putting ambitious projects on hold and cutting hundreds of jobs. On Friday, the world's largest oil service company Schlumberger announced that it would cut 9,000 jobs.

Oil prices have dropped from over $100 for a barrel of Brent oil in June to under $50 a barrel on Tuesday. In December, OPEC, the world's oil cartel, said they would maintain production levels despite falling price.

Statoil is an international oil and gas company operating in 36 countries. Headquartered in Norway, the company has about 23,000 employees worldwide.