Political Advantage, Political Risk
The Nascent Stage of Statoil’s International Expansion, 1978–1999
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 24214561 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Ada Nissen (0000-0003-1701-6925, University of Oslo), Jonas Fossli Gjersøe (University of Stavanger) |
| Year | 2026 |
| Pages | 1-24 |
| Publication date | 2026-10-05 |
| Open Access | Yes |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Scandinavian Journal of History (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 0346-8755 • E-ISSN: 1502-7716 |
| Publisher | Informa UK Limited (PUBLISHER • GB) |
| DOI | 10.1080/03468755.2026.2736239 |
| OpenAlex | W7220363134 |
| Language | EN |
| References cited | 21 |
This article analyses how the dynamics between the Norwegian national oil company Statoil and its government owner gradually changed during the 1980s and 1990s, as Statoil invested in politically risky business environments outside its domicile. Yet, despite this seemingly profit-maximizing behaviour, the NOC was closely intertwined with its government owner and this owner’s pursuit of a value-based foreign policy with emphasis on support for poverty reduction, democracy, human rights and peace building. Beginning in China in the 1980s, the article follows Statoil’s investments and challenges in Nigeria and the Caucasus until the end of the 1990s. The article explores how Statoil used its close association to the Norwegian state to both gain market access and to mitigate its associated risk. It observes how Statoil gradually moved from instructed agent to instructor of its government owner, and illustrates the background to which the company, through its investment policy, created a fait accompli for fully fledged privatization and stock market listing in 2001. By using Statoil as a case study, the article hopes to contribute to a deeper understanding of the emergence of different varieties of the international national oil company or “INOC”.
Caucasus · China · Foreign direct investment · Foreign policy · Market access · national oil companies · Nigeria · oil and gas industry · Political risk · Privatization · state-business relations · Statoil · stock market listing · International Business and FDI · Natural Resources and Economic Development · State Capitalism and Financial Governance
The Oil Curse
Agency Theory
Nigeria’s Elusive Quest for Democracy
The Great Leap Offshore
Kazakhstan
The internationalization of the European electricity industry
Moral authority and status in International Relations
The Domestic Political Conditions for International Economic Expansion
Political instability and business
| Highly cited | No |
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