Statoil's newly appointed CEO and president Eldar Sætre says Statoil is "well prepared" to tackle the large uncertainty facing the oil and gas industry, amid five-year low oil prices.
Sætre (pictured), who has been acting CEO and president of Statoil since October, today replaces Helge Lund, who left Statoil to become BG Group's CEO.
Sætre has been a member of Statoil's corporate executive committee since 2003. He started as CFO, and later became executive vice president for the business area marketing, processing and renewable energy (MPR).
"Statoil is well positioned for the future," he said. "We have a solid financial platform, and a highly competent organization. Our industry is currently experiencing large uncertainty. Statoil started the work to improve our competitiveness early. We have our work cut out for us, but we are well prepared to tackle these challenging times."
Sætre saud that, going forward, Statoil's "key focus" will be on the Norwegian continental shelf, while still pursing international opportunities.
The firm recently pulled out of some offshore Greenland exploration blocks, but it also has a strong position in other areas, such as Tanzania, where work is ongoing to acquire a site for LNG trains for major deepwater gas deposits discovered in Tanzania's deepwater acreage.
Sætre's annual fixed salary will be NOK7.7 million.
Sætre played a key role during Statoil's IPO and the merger with Norsk Hydro's oil and gas division. He was responsible for the updated strategy for marketing of natural gas to the European market. He has also led the improvement work at Statoil's onshore facilities.
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Photo by Harold Pettersen/Statoil.
