The expected volumes are exclusive of any Opec cuts. Commercial considerations related to gas sales activities, operational regularity, the timing of new capacity coming on stream and gas off-take represent the most significant risks related to the production guidance.

Capital expenditures for 2010, excluding acquisitions and capital leases, are estimated to be around USD 13 billion.

Unit production cost for equity volumes is estimated to be NOK 35-36 per boe, which is on par with 2009.

The company will continue to mature the large portfolio of exploration assets and expects an exploration activity level in 2010 of around US D 2.3 billion.

We anticipate that prices for crude oil, products and natural gas will continue to be volatile in the short to medium term. Refining margins have been low for more than a year, and we anticipate that they will remain rather low in the short to medium term.

In the long term, we maintain our positive view of gas as an energy source. Domestic production of gas in the EU continues to decline, while demand for gas is expected to increase in the long term, particularly due to the lower carbon footprint of natural gas compared with oil and coal. In the US we believe that our position in the Marcellus shale gas acreage, in combination with Gulf of Mexico production and our LNG regasification capacity position at the Cove Point terminal in Maryland will provide a foundation for growth in our US market position in the years to come.
 
Statoil's income could vary significantly with changes in commodity prices, while volumes are fairly stable through the year. There is a small seasonal effect on volumes between winter and summer seasons due to normally higher off-takes of natural gas during cold periods. There is normally an additional small seasonal effect on volumes from a higher level of maintenance of offshore production facilities since generally better weather conditions allow for more maintenance work during the second and third quarter each year.

These forward-looking statements reflect current views about future events and are, by their nature, subject to significant risks and uncertainties because
they relate to events and depend on circumstances that will occur in the future.