Saga Petroleum ASA was a Norwegian

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petroleum company The petroleum industry, also known as the oil industry or the oil patch, includes the global processes of exploration, extraction, refining, transportation (often by oil tankers and pipelines), and marketing of petroleum products. The larg ...

established in 1972 that was acquired by

Norsk Hydro Norsk Hydro ASA (often referred to as just ''Hydro'') is a Norwegian aluminium and renewable energy company, headquartered in Oslo. It is one of the largest aluminium companies worldwide. It has operations in some 50 countries around the world ...

in 1999. In October 2007 it was made part of

Statoil Equinor ASA (formerly Statoil and StatoilHydro) is a Norwegian state-owned multinational energy company headquartered in Stavanger. It is primarily a petroleum company, operating in 36 countries with additional investments in renewable energy. ...

. The company was the only fully private oil company in Norway. It had partial ownership of 60 oil field licenses and was operator of 18. Saga had an international profile, including major operations on the British continental shelf as well as minor operations in

Angola , national_anthem = "Angola Avante"() , image_map = , map_caption = , capital = Luanda , religion = , religion_year = 2020 , religion_ref = , coordina ...

Indonesia Indonesia, officially the Republic of Indonesia, is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania between the Indian and Pacific oceans. It consists of over 17,000 islands, including Sumatra, Java, Sulawesi, and parts of Borneo and New Guine ...

Libya Libya (; ar, ليبيا, Lībiyā), officially the State of Libya ( ar, دولة ليبيا, Dawlat Lībiyā), is a country in the Maghreb region in North Africa. It is bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to the north, Egypt to the east, Su ...

and

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History

Saga Petroleum was founded in 1972 as a private initiative based on a political wish to have three Norwegian oil companies. The company started up at the same time as

and was part of the three-company model with one state owned company (Statoil), one semi-private company (Norsk Hydro) and one fully private company (Saga). The three Norwegian oil companies were to ensure that petroleum competence was established in Norway. Among the largest fields Saga operated were the Snorre oil field and the Tordi, Varg and Vigdis oil fields. Not long before the merger Saga had acquired the

Kuwait Kuwait (; ar, الكويت ', or ), officially the State of Kuwait ( ar, دولة الكويت '), is a country in Western Asia. It is situated in the northern edge of Eastern Arabia at the tip of the Persian Gulf, bordering Iraq to the no ...

based Santa Fe Exploration for US$1.23 billion.

Hydro purchase

Originally

Elf Aquitaine Elf Aquitaine is a French brand of oils and other motor products (such as brake fluids) for automobiles and trucks. Elf is a former petroleum company which merged with TotalFina to form "TotalFinaElf". The new company changed its name to Total i ...

tried to purchase Saga, but eventually Norsk Hydro acquired it. Saga's financial position had become weak due to the low oil price and the badly timed acquisition of Santa Fe, and oil hedging.Norsk Hydro's Takeover of Saga Petroleum in 1999 – Tittelside
/ref> After the merger with Hydro some operating responsibilities were transferred to Statoil and all British operations were sold.

References

{{Authority control Oil companies of Norway Defunct energy companies of Norway Defunct oil companies Non-renewable resource companies established in 1972 Companies formerly listed on the Oslo Stock Exchange Norsk Hydro Companies based in Bærum Energy companies established in 1972 1972 establishments in Norway 1999 disestablishments in Norway Non-renewable resource companies disestablished in 1999 Energy companies disestablished in 1999 1999 mergers and acquisitions