Gene Kliewer,
Technology Editor

STAVANGER, Norway --Creating value in an age of complexity was the theme of Helge Lund's keynote speech at the opening plenary session of the Deep Offshore Technology Conference in Stavanger today. This was Lund's first industry presentation as CEO of the recently combined StatoilHydro.

"We live in an age of complexity and cooperation across countries, companies, and disciplines," Lund said in characterizing the oil and gas industry today. While there may be a number of views regarding the driving forces behind today's oil and gas world, the facts remain that the "easy" barrels are gone and only cooperation among the players will bring the needed energy to market, he continued.

"Attacking complexity with technology" is the necessary approach he said. "There is a difference between technology and technical competence, and that is the ability to create value out of technology. In this way we can turn the complex barrels (of oil) of today into easy barrels for tomorrow."

"The competition is tough, the projects are complex, and operators are close to capacity limits," Lund said, "so finding better ways of cooperating is necessary."

With StatoilHydro as the largest offshore operator today, with a presence in 40 countries, "we can succeed only if we are a good partner with our host countries, venture partners, and industry suppliers," Lund said.

Looking at StatoilHydro specifically, Lund said the company has a plan of operation that includes building on its Norwegian continental shelf platform, being more competitive in the world's energy arenas, applying first class technology and project execution, and having a strong gas and downstream operation.