Norway's Statoil hit by low oil prices

Norwegian energy company Statoil said Friday fourth quarter earnings were affected by declining oil prices, though production forecasts were strong.

"Statoil's quarterly earnings were affected by the sharp drop in oil prices," President and Chief Executive Officer Eldar Saetre said in a statement.

Adjusted earnings for the fourth quarter were $3.5 billion, a 36 percent decline from the previous quarter. The company, one of the region's lead oil and gas suppliers, said fourth quarter results were impacted by lower natural gas prices in the European market.

In terms of production, Statoil said its equity stake in global production was 2.1 million barrels of oil equivalent per day during the fourth quarter, up 3.5 percent year-on-year, driven by new field development.

"Statoil was among the leading explorers also in 2014," the company added in its fourth quarter statement. More than 500 million boe were added to the company's resource base from exploration alone last year.

The company said it aims to increase production annually by 2 percent next year and 3 percent through 2018. Capital spending, however, will decline 10 percent to $18 billion.

"Our strategy remains firm and we now reinforce our efforts and commitment to deliver on our priorities of high value growth, increased efficiency and competitive shareholder returns," the CEO said.