At the end of 1994, Statoil had 2,200 service stations in 10 countries and two refineries, one in Norway and one in Denmark. Statoil is the world's third largest net trader of crude oil, with trade offices in the USA, Singapore, London and Norway. The group has also become the leading supplier of feedstock to Europe's petrochemicals industry. Statoil ranks as the world's largest operator of shuttle tankers. Offshore loading Based on operational experience from the Norwegian offshore Statfjord and Gullfaks fields, the company has improved technology for offshore loading in collaboration with Norwegian industry.
New solutions cut costs, reduce downtime and make offshore loading possible during bad weather.
The new offshore loading technology will be applied as a solution for making production ships more competitive. Production wells on the seabed are connected to the ship via an advanced swivel installed in the hull to handle the wellstream. Installing processing equipment gives a floating mobile production facility and allows a find to come on stream soon after it has been discovered. The unique feature of this multi-purpose ship lies in its ability to shift between roles as a conventional tanker, a shuttle tanker or a production ship. The first multi-purpose ship has been ordered by Statoil in partnership with the Bergesen d.y. shipping company.