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Oslo - Norwegian oil giant Statoil almost quadrupled its first quarter profits, the group announced on Tuesday, thanks to higher oil and gas prices and lower expenditure.
Profits leaped to 23.6bn kroner ($3.94bn, €2.84bn) compared to 6.4 billion kroner a year previously
Despite a one-percent drop in production, the company said it benefited from higher oil prices and good results from its US gas operations.
The increased profits were also due to a significant drop (4.7bn kroner) in oil exploration spending.
"Our operational performance is solid, providing the foundation for around 2% re-based organic (oil) production growth in 2014," chief executive Helge Lund said in a statement.
Hit by soaring costs in the oil services sector, Statoil along with its competitors recently announced cut-backs in investments in order to build up its cash flow.
In February the oil group - which is 67% owned by the Norwegian state - reduced its investment spending forecast for 2014-2016 to $20bn per year from $21.7bn.
