Statoil to slash new head office, emissions

Statoil has decided to abandon plans for a new headquarters in Stavanger, international media reported on Friday, a day after the Norwegian major posted its 2030 climate roadmap.

In 2014, Statoil had planned an avant-garde new oval building, but has since laid off about 3,000 employees, making the investment unnecessary. While in 2013 the firm employed 23,400 people, today its workforce numbers some 20,500.

“At that time we expected the need for office space to increase, but today the existing offices meet our needs,” company spokesman Morten Eek told Reuters.

“It became possible after workforce reductions and more efficient use of workspace.”

The news came a day after Statoil announced that it was planning to reduce its total carbon dioxide emissions by 3 million tpy by 2030 in a climate roadmap that also called for a USD 27-per barrel break-even price of its future portfolio.

Additionally, the firm said investments in renewables and low-carbon solutions could quadruple over the next 13 years and constitute about 15-20% of all investments.

“We believe that being able to produce oil and gas with lower emissions while also growing in profitable renewables will give competitive advantages and provide attractive business opportunities in the transition to a low carbon economy,” said CEO Eldar Sætre in a statement.