Norwegian operators to take lion's share of '99 subsea facilities placement, says report.

A new report says producers in the Norwegian Sea and Norway's sector of the North Sea will spend nearly US$5 billion on subsea equipment in 1999.

The report, prepared by Norland Consultants of Norway, says the Norwegian offshore area leads the rest of the world in using such equipment.

Statoil, the Norwegian national oil company, will lead the way in drilling and production equipment installations on the Norwegian sea floor next year.

But the 1999 spending is no fluke. By the end of this year alone, Norwegian companies will have spent some US$4.7 billion on such equipment, Says Norland.

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