The Ministry of Petroleum and Energy sells shares in Statoil ASA

Not for distribution in theUnited States,Canada,Australia,South AfricaorJapan.

The Ministry of Petroleum and Energy has appointed Merrill Lynch International ("Merrill Lynch") to place 100 million shares in Statoil ASA. Merrill Lynch was selected following a competitive process where bids were invited for several transaction structures, including a minimum guaranteed price. The price achieved by the Norwegian State will depend on the outcome of a bookbuilding carried out by Merrill Lynch starting today. The sale is directed at institutional investors in Norway and abroad. The closing price of Statoil ASA on the Oslo Stock Exchange on Tuesday 15 February was 107.00 kroner per share.

Ms. Thorhild Widvey, Minister of Petroleum and Energy, comments: ”The current market environment allows us to further reduce the Government's holding in Statoil ASA, enabling Norwegian and international investors to increase their holding of Statoil ASA. Increasing liquidity is important to ensure that Statoil can be fairly valued in line with its international peers. The State will remain the dominant shareholder in the company, and thus be the main beneficiary from any further improvements in the share price."

In the event of oversubscription, the Ministry of Petroleum and Energy may reduce or reject purchase orders at its own discretion, following consultation with its financial advisers.

Private persons in Norway and in the EEA area will be given the opportunity to acquire shares at the price which is set in the institutional sale, in a subsequent retail placement. This sale is expected to take place shortly, and terms will be made public immediately before the sale commences. In line with previous practice, up to 17.65 million shares will be made available in the retail tranche.

Statoil ASA was introduced on the Oslo and New York stock exchanges through an Initial Public Offering of shares in June 2001. The Norwegian State currently owns 1,653 million shares, equal to 76.33 % of the company. The Storting has granted the Government the authority to reduce the State ownership to 2/3 of the company. The Ministry has agreed with Merrill Lynch not to sell additional ordinary shares of Statoil ASA for a period of 180 days following completion of the sale.

Deutsche Bank has been the financial adviser to the Ministry of Petroleum and Energy in planning this transaction. The retail sale will be organised by DnB NOR Markets, but will be open to participation by all registered brokers on the Oslo Børs.

This press release is for information only and does not constitute an offer to sell, purchase, exchange or transfer any securities or a solicitation of any such offer in the United States or any other jurisdiction. The securities referred to herein have not been and will not be registered under the U.S. Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the “Securities Act”) and may not be offered or sold in the United States absent registration or an exemption from registration under the Securities Act. Neither Statoil ASA nor any other participant in the transactions described herein intends to register any securities under the Securities Act or with any securities regulatory authority of any state or other jurisdiction in the United States in connection with the proposals described in this announcement.

This communication is directed only at persons who (i) are outside the United Kingdom or (ii) have professional experience in matters relating to investments or (iii) are persons falling within Article 49(2)(a) to (d) ("high net worth companies, unincorporated associations etc") of The Financial Services and Markets Act 2000 (Financial Promotion) Order 2001 (all such persons together being referred to as "relevant persons"). This communication must not be acted on or relied on by persons who are not relevant persons. Any investment or investment activity to which this communication relates is available only to relevant persons and will be engaged in only with relevant persons.

Deutsche Bank and Merrill Lynch International are each acting solely for the Ministry of Petroleum and Energy and no-one else and will not be responsible for providing the protections afforded to customers of Deutsche Bank and Merrill Lynch International, respectively nor for providing advice in relation to the transaction.No representation or warranty, express or implied, is or will be made as to, or in relation to, and no responsibility or liability is or will be accepted by Merrill Lynch International or by any of its affiliates or agents as to or in relation to the accuracy or completeness of this release, or any other written or oral information made available to or publicly available to any interested party or its advisers and any liability therefor is hereby expressly disclaimed.

The distribution of this announcement and the offering or sale of the securities in certain jurisdictions may be restricted by law. No action has been taken by the The Ministry of Petroleum and Energy, Deutsche Bank or Merrill Lynch International or any of their respective affiliates that would permit an offering of the securities or possession or distribution of this announcement or any other offering or publicity material relating to such securities in any jurisdiction where action for that purpose is required. Persons into whose possession this announcement comes are required to inform themselves about and to observe any such restrictions.

Merrill Lynch International is authorised and regulated by the UK Financial Services Authority.