COMPROMISE SEEN LIKELY OVER CONOCO-STATOIL DISPUTE
Norway is expected to seek a compromise
solution to defuse a row between Den Norske Stats Oljeselskap
A/S <STAT.OL> (Statoil) and Conoco Norge A/S over which firm
will operate the Heidrun oil field, government sources said.
    The sources, who asked not to be named, said the government
will likely recommend that Conoco be allowed to continue as the
field's operator through the development phase, with Statoil
taking over only after production starts in the early 1990s.
    Oil Minister Arne Oeien told Reuters the government had
today discused the Heidrun matter but that no final decision
had been taken and several questions remained unresolved.
    It was unlikely the government would announce its decision
on Heidrun operatorship until after Thursday's cabinet meeting
and after discussing a proposed solution with both companies,
the sources added.
    This spring Norway's state-owned oil company Statoil
exercised an option in the Heidrun field exploration license
that, if approved by the government, would allow it to relieve
Conoco as Heidrun operator, a move sharply criticised by
Conoco.
    Heidrun is often cited by the government and industry as
the most likely candidate for the first field development
project on the Haltenbanken exploration tract off central
Norway.
 Reuter
