Statoil shares surge on dividend payout commitment

Statoil, Norway’s biggest oil company, deepened investment cuts and offered to pay dividends in stock as it pledged to maintain shareholder payouts even as a collapse in crude prices eroded earnings.

The shares surged.

The company said it plans to reduce capital expenditure to $13 billion (€11.85bn) this year from a revised $14.7bn in 2015, after reporting a 63% drop in fourth-quarter profit yesterday.