On Tuesday, 25 April, the Norwegian Minister of Labour and Social Affairs Anniken Hauglie officially opened Wintershall Norge’s new main office building in Stavanger, saying she welcomed the jobs created by the company during its ten years in Norway.

“The opening of Wintershall’s new headquarters shows that the Norwegian Continental Shelf offers huge opportunities and demonstrates that Norway is an attractive place to do business for international actors,” she told a gathering of employees, local dignitaries and oil company executives at the new office in Hinna Park.

Wintershall Norge has a share in around 60 licenses on the Norwegian Continental Shelf and operates more than half. Since 2012, the company has become one of Norway’s biggest producers, raising daily production from 3,000 barrels of oil equivalent (boe) in 2012 to more than 80,000 boe today.

“We have become one of the most important players on the Norwegian Continental Shelf. This is a performance to be proud of, but it’s certainly not the end of the story. On the contrary. We are committed to consistently developing our projects and partnerships – and to continue to invest in Norway. Our pledge remains in place: we are here to stay,” said Martin Bachmann, Executive Director responsible for Exploration and Production in Europe and Middle East.

Wintershall Norge is operator of the NOK 15.3 billion Maria development in the Norwegian Sea. Throughout its lifetime, the subsea field will return substantial value to Norway through jobs and tax revenue, said Bachmann.

“Maria is Wintershall’s flagship development on the Norwegian Shelf, and the first field we are bringing all the way from discovery to production. It is our biggest single investment in Norway, and over the next 25 years this field will create around 35,000 man-years of work and will provide significant income for Norwegian society,” he said.

Wintershall has a history of creating jobs in Norway. Between 2009 and 2015, the number of personnel in Wintershall Norge grew from 50 to around 500, with colleagues in Stavanger spread over three different buildings. In 2014, Wintershall, with support from parent company BASF, recognised a possibility of optimising the office arrangement by constructing a new office building which could house all of the personnel under one roof.

“By bringing together all our Stavanger colleagues under one roof, we are more efficient, and more productive. Today we share knowledge and collaborate even more closely than we did before. In addition, modern communication technology in our new building means we can work with our colleagues and stakeholders in other parts of the world in the most effective way possible,” said Bernd Schrimpf, Wintershall Norge Managing Director.

Wintershall Norge’s new office is located in Hinna Park, which is served by several bus routes and a train station. The building is constructed to high environmental standards, and is one of the first in Norway to reach the benchmark BREEAM-NOR Excellent rating.

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