In 2009, we spent approximately NOK 207 million on social investments in activities spread across 24 countries of operation, NOK 182 million of which was spent on a voluntary and NOK 25 million on a contractual basis. In 2009 the biggest social investments outside of Norway were made in Angola, Algeria, Azerbaijan, Russia, Venezuela and Nigeria. (See 'Overview of activities by country' for social investments by country). Social investments are part of our business and social responsibility plans for countries in which we operate.  

Through our social investments, we aim to mitigate social risks associated with project development and operations, promote transparency and respect for human rights in the business environment, build local capacity and expertise in the oil and gas industry, and improve local conditions and welfare.

Overall, our social investments must be based both on our business objectives and stakeholders' priorities in the countries in which we operate. Social investments are used strategically to manage the impacts of our business activities, and are established on the basis of relevant risks and opportunities as identified through relevant risk and impact assessments. Stakeholder dialogue is also an important element of social investment identification, and aims to ensure that expressed community needs are met, projects are appropriately designed and sustainability is promoted. In 2009, we revised our procedures to further improve effectiveness and quality control, and we also introduced additional measures to reduce third-party compliance and corruption risks.

Local strategies for social investment are part of country or project-specific social responsibility plans. These CSR plans, which are required to support operations in all non-OECD countries, document key social and political risks to our business strategy and projects, and propose mitigating actions and steps, including possible social investments. In 2009, CSR plans were prepared in 57% of the non-OECD countries where we are active, up from 50% in 2008. In addition, CSR plans were prepared in Canada, Mexico and the USA to take account of the particular social and environmental risks that our operations face there. 

Definitions: In 2008, we adjusted the definition of social investments we had used in the past. We now use an adapted version of the London Benchmarking Group definition for social investments which includes voluntary contributions such as charitable donations, community investments, other social investments which are not specifically targeted at communities within the direct area of impact, and management costs. Charitable donations include philanthropic donations and gifts such as 'cheque-writing' and associated activities. A community investment refers to projects that is targeted at fence-line communities or those within the project's direct area of impact. Other investments include social investment projects that do not necessarily target a specific community, but may be more regional or national level investments. Management costs generally refer to the salary cost spent managing these types of social investments. The total also includes investments made due to contractual obligations arising from licencing agreements and other contractual obligations. Social investments outside of Norway include Statoil share of investments made through partner-operated fields and joint-ventures. Social investments made in Norway only include investments made through Statoil-operated fields.