Investopedia: Statoil - Iffy Operations, But Serious Potential Value

There are not many freebies in oil and gas, so if an investor wants to own an E&P company trading at a low valuation, there is a price to be paid in quality. The question with Norway's Statoil (NYSE:STO) is just how much of a discount is really fair. Although Statoil does indeed have issues with its cost structure and reserve base, the company's above-average growth potential and capacity for additional deals argues that the discount today is too steep.

Familiar Problems Show up in Q4  
Statoil's fourth quarter results weren't too surprising to long-term followers of this story. Although production slightly beat expectations, it grew less than 1% overall, as declines in Norwegian production offset better than 25% growth from international projects.


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http://stocks.investopedia.com/stock-analysis/2012/Statoil--Iffy-Operations-But-Serious-Potential-Value-STO-XOM-TOT-CHK0229.aspx