Statoil ASA (Statoil) was founded by a decision of the Norwegian Storting (parliament) in 1972. As a result of Statoil's merger with the oil and energy business of Hydro (formerly Norsk Hydro), we have roots in the oil industry dating back to the 1960s, when Hydro took part in the exploration of the NCS.
Statoil was incorporated as a limited company under the name Den norske stats oljeselskap a.s. Wholly-owned by the Norwegian State, the company's role was to be the government's commercial instrument in the development of the oil and gas industry in Norway. In 2001, the company became a public limited company listed on the Oslo and New York stock exchanges, and changed its name to Statoil ASA.
On 1 October 2007, the oil and energy assets of Hydro were merged with Statoil, and the company changed its name to StatoilHydro ASA. Through this merger, our ability to fully realise the potential of the NCS was strengthened and our chances of succeeding as an international player improved. As a result of the merger, we are the largest international oil and gas company operating in water deeper than 100 metres. The financial and other information in this report reflects the combined development of the former Statoil and Hydro for all periods presented.
Our history of involvement in the oil and gas industry began in earnest in 1965, when we were awarded licences by the Norwegian State to explore for petroleum on the NCS. We participated in the discovery of the Ekofisk field in 1969 and the Frigg field in 1971. The development of these discoveries brought us into the petroleum refining and marketing business.
In 1975, oil refining operations began at Mongstad in Norway, and in 1974, Mobil discovered the Statfjord field in the North Sea, which was of great significance for the further development of the Norwegian continental shelf (NCS). During the development of Statfjord, one of the world's largest offshore oilfields, we encountered great challenges. Statfjord came on stream in 1979 and we took over as operator eight years later. Today, we have a 44% interest in the field.
In the 1980s, both Statoil and Hydro became major players in the European gas market by obtaining large sales contracts for the development and operation of gas transport systems and terminals. During the same decade, we were heavily involved in manufacturing and marketing in Scandinavia and we established a comprehensive network of service stations. We acquired Esso's service stations, refineries and petrochemical facilities in Denmark and Sweden.
The 1990s were characterised by intense technological development on the NCS. Both Statoil and Hydro became leading companies in the fields of floating production facilities and subsea developments. We grew strongly, expanded in product markets and increased our commitment to international exploration and production through our alliance with BP. The foundations for today's merged company were also laid through Hydro's acquisition of Saga Petroleum in 1999, and several major acquisitions in the Gulf of Mexico.
Since 1 October 2007, our business has grown as a result of substantial investments and acquisitions including the acquisitions of oil sands leases in Canada in 2007 and the acquisition of the remaining share in the Peregrino field in Brazil in 2008. We also became the operator for this field. Since October 2007, we have also had a 24% ownership share in Shtokman Development AG which is responsible for phase I of the Shtokman development, a natural gas field located in the central part of the Russian sector of the Barents Sea.
Our most recent transaction involves a strategic agreement to jointly explore unconventional gas opportunities worldwide with Chesapeake Energy Corporation, the largest US producer of natural gas. Under these agreements, StatoilHydro acquired an initial 32.5% interest in Chesapeake's Marcellus shale gas acreage covering 1.8 million net acres (7300 square kilometres) in the Appalachia region of the northeastern USA. For more information about this acquisition, see report section 3.2 Operational review-International E&P.
