Privatization, platforms and petroleum wives - Seminar on the history of Statoil

The Fate of Nations research group, together with the University of Oslo (UiO) and Statoil, organized a two-day seminar on the history of Statoil on 1-2 March 2018. The seminar provided the opportunity to discuss work in progress of the master students and junior scholars from UiO and NTNU that are involved in the History of Statoil research project, currently underway at UiO.

Taking place at Statoil's beautifully located research center at Rotvoll in Trondheim, the seminar discussed a wide variety of topics. Some of the papers dealt with the history of the company itself, including Statoil's partial privatization in 2001, it's early experiences with marketing crude oil, its internationalization since the late 1980s and the development of its Corporate Social Responsibility policies. Other papers discussed the company's role in wider technological, political, economic and social processes, such as the technological development of platforms on the Norwegian Continental Shelf, the political and commercial implications of Norwegian gas exports, the industrial and economic development of Norway, health and safety off shore and the role of the Petroleum Wives' Club in the social inclusion of the expatriate communities in Stavanger.

The seminar is a semi-annually recurring event that brings together students, researchers, Statoil representatives and others, and is part of the History of Statoil project. Statoil, Norway's biggest oil company, was established in 1972 and celebrates its 50th anniversary in 2022. The company has generously provided funds to undertake a 6-year research project, led by Professor Einar Lie at UiO, to commemorate the occasion. Part of the project's first stage is a close cooperation between UiO and NTNU to recruit and supervise master students. Fate of Nations-members Espen Storli and Mats Ingulstad participate as project professors and are responsible for supervising NTNU's master students involved in the project. More information on the project can be found here.

Photo credit: Adapted from Statoil Research Centre at Rotvoll, Trondheim, by Jan Norman, taken on September 29, 2012.