Downsizing the workforce Norwegian Statfjord gas to the UK

Merger creates StatoilHydro

Norwegian Petroleum Museum

A merger between Statoil and Hydro’s oil and energy division was announced on 18 December 2006, and the new StatoilHydro company became a reality on 1 October 2007. The boards of Statoil and Norsk Hydro had recommended the tie-up to their shareholders, with strong backing from the Labour government under Jens Stoltenberg. The state was the largest shareholder in both companies, and the Storting (parliament) voted in favour of the plan on 8 June 2007.

— StatoilHydro logo

Statoil’s shareholders secured about two-thirds of the shares in the new company, with Hydro’s owners taking the remainder. The remainder of Hydro continued separately as a large aluminium group, with additional activities in hydropower and such alternative energy forms as hydrogen and solar power. After the merger, StatoilHydro ranked as the world’s eighth largest producer of oil and gas.

A culture clash might have been expected after the merger between employees in two organisations with different and strong corporate identities. But little evidence of such conflicts has been found, according to a study by researcher Helene Loe Colman at the Norwegian School of Management.

Sources:
Colman: “Social Identity and Group Belonging in Post-merger Integration” i Colman, Stensaker, og Tharaldsen (eds.) A Merger of Equals? The Integration of Statoil and Hydro’s Oil & Gas Activities. Fagbokforlaget 2011.

Downsizing the workforce Norwegian Statfjord gas to the UK

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Published November 26, 2019 • Updated January 7, 2020