StatoilHydro Strengthens Ties with Arkhangelsk Oblast

On Feb. 19, 2008, StatoilHydro signed a Memorandum of Understanding with Arkhangelsk Oblast Administration. The agreement is another milestone in the company's long-term commitment to North-West Russia. The MoU was signed in Arkhangelsk by StatoilHydro President in Russia Bengt Lie Hansen and Arkhangelsk Oblast Governor Nikolay Kiselev, in the presence of the ambassador of Norway to Russia Oyvind Nordsletten.

The agreement consolidates the initiatives taken by Statoil and Hydro in the region and covers cooperation in the fields of industrial and supplier development, university cooperation, CSR activities, environmental projects and municipal support.

To implement various elements of the agreement, StatoilHydro and Arkhangelsk Oblast Administration will establish working groups with representatives from both parties. The MoU has a time frame of three years.

"The signing of the new MoU demonstrates the continuity and long-term approach StatoilHydro has in the region. We are looking forward to further cooperation with the Arkhangelsk Oblast Administration for the mutual benefit of the region and the company," said Bengt Lie Hansen, president of StatoilHydro Russia, after signing the agreement.

"The memorandum signed by the regional administration and StatoilHydro is a new milestone in our relations with Norwegian partners we have been cooperating with for several years already. We are sure that our partnership with the merged company will be equally successful and will allow us at least to double the outcomes of our mutually beneficial cooperation," said Nikolay Kiselev, the Governor of Arkhangelsk Oblast.