Norway to invest in offshore oil

Norwegian oil companies were preparing to spend some US $3 billion on offshore oil exploration in Angola, according to news reports on Monday quoting the Norwegian ambassador to Angola, Borg Leite. The reports said Statoil, the Norwegian state-owned oil company, and Norsk Hydro, Norway’s largest publicly listed company, were favoured to win a concession to operate an ultra-deepwater field off the northern Angolan coast. The government is to award the concession by the end of the year. The reports said Leite did not provide details of the investments. He spoke to reporters after the arrival in Luanda of Norwegian Oil Minister Olav Akselsen and Norsk Hydro president Egil Myklebust for three days of talks with Angolan officials. The delegation was due to meet with Angola’s ministers for oil and finance and with President Jose Eduardo dos Santos. Statoil representatives were expected to arrive later this week, the reports said.