The principal Norwegian legislation governing our petroleum activities in Norway and on the NCS is currently the Norwegian Petroleum Act of 29 November 1996 (the "Petroleum Act"), and the regulations issued thereunder, as well as the Norwegian Petroleum Taxation Act of 13 June 1975 (the "Petroleum Taxation Act"). The Petroleum Act states the principle that the Norwegian state is the owner of all subsea petroleum on the NCS, that exclusive right to resource management is vested in the Norwegian state and that the Norwegian state alone is authorised to award licences for petroleum activities. We are dependent on the Norwegian state for approval of our NCS exploration and development projects and our applications for production rates for individual fields.

Under the Petroleum Act, the Norwegian Ministry of Petroleum and Energy is responsible for resource management and for administering petroleum activities on the NCS. The main task of the Ministry of Petroleum and Energy is to ensure that petroleum activities are conducted in accordance with the applicable legislation, the policies adopted by the Norwegian parliament, the Storting, and relevant decisions of the Norwegian State. The Ministry of Petroleum and Energy primarily implements petroleum policy through its power to administer the award of licences and approve operators' field and pipeline development plans, as well as petroleum transport and gas sales contracts. Only those plans that conform to the policies and regulations adopted by the Storting are approved. As set out in the Petroleum Act, if a plan involves an important principle or will have a significant economic or social impact, it must also be submitted to the Storting for acceptance before being approved by the Ministry of Petroleum and Energy.

We are not required to submit any decisions relating to our operations to the Storting. However, the Storting's role with respect to major policy issues in the petroleum sector may affect us in two ways: firstly, when the Norwegian State acts in its capacity as majority owner of our shares and, secondly, when the Norwegian State acts in its capacity as regulator:

• The Norwegian State held 67% of our ordinary shares as of 12 March 2010. The Norwegian State's shareholding in Statoil is managed by the Ministry of Petroleum and Energy. The Ministry of Petroleum and Energy will normally decide how the Norwegian State will vote on proposals submitted to general meetings of the shareholders. However, in certain exceptional cases, it may be necessary for the Norwegian State to seek approval from the Storting before voting on a certain proposal. This will normally be the case if we issue additional shares and such issuance would significantly dilute the Norwegian State's holding, or if such issuance would require a capital contribution from the Norwegian State in excess of government mandates. It is not possible to predict what stance the Norwegian Storting will take on a proposal for issuance of additional shares that would either significantly dilute its holding of Statoil shares or require a capital contribution from it in excess of governmental mandates. A decision by the Norwegian State against our proposal to issue additional shares would prevent us from raising additional capital in this manner and could adversely affect our ability to pursue business opportunities and to further develop the company.
• The Norwegian State exercises important regulatory powers over us, as well as over other companies and corporations. As part of our business, we, or the partnerships to which we are a party, frequently need to apply for licences and other approval of various kinds from the Norwegian State. In respect of certain important applications, such as the approval of major plans for operation and development of fields, the Ministry of Petroleum and Energy must obtain the consent of the Storting before it can approve our or the relevant partnership's application. This may take additional time and affect the content of the decision. Although Statoil is majority-owned by the Norwegian State, it does not receive preferential treatment with respect to licences granted by or under any other regulatory rules enforced by the Norwegian State.

Although Norway is not a member of the European Union, or EU, it is a member of the European Free Trade Association (EFTA). The EU and its member states have entered into the Agreement on the European Economic Area, referred to as the EEA Agreement, with the members of EFTA (except Switzerland).

The EEA Agreement makes certain provisions of EU law binding between the states of the EU and the EFTA states, and also between the EFTA states themselves. An increasing volume of regulation affecting us is adopted within the EU and then applied to Norway under the EEA Agreement. As a Norwegian company operating both within EFTA and the EU, our business activities are regulated by both EEA law and EU law to the extent that EU law has been incorporated into EEA law under the EEA Agreement.