OREANDA-NEWS. Oystein Michelsen has been appointed Tanzania country manager in Development and Production International, Sub-Saharan Africa (DPI SAF) in Statoil.

Michelsen will report to DPI SAF senior vice president Tove Stuhr SjOblom, and will assume his new responsibilities on 1 January 2014. His office location will be Dar es Salaam.

Michelsen succeeds acting country manager Knut Henrik Dalland, who will continue in a senior position in the Tanzania gas development and country organisation.

Michelsen is currently executive vice president of Development and Production Norway (DPN), a role he has held since 2008.

He joined Norsk Hydro in 1981 and came to Statoil with the merger in 2007, taking up the role as senior vice president for Operations North. He has a broad background from a range of operational and leadership positions. Michelsen has a master degree in physics from the Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU) in 1980.

"Oystein took on the challenging role as head of DPN at short notice in 2008, and has taken the organisation forward in a very good way. His deep operational experience, combined with a hands-on approach and his ability to mobilise and motivate his people, has been instrumental in developing DPN. At the same time he has built high credibility and trust with all key stakeholders, within the industry as well as on the political arena," says Statoil CEO Helge Lund.

"We have now appointed one of our most experienced leaders as country manager for Tanzania, reflecting the importance of this role. It is a challenging and important project that will demand the best of Statoil's capabilities. I take this opportunity to thank Oystein for his contributions in his DPN role, and look forward to working closely with him also in his new and important role," Lund says.

A new DPN executive vice president will be announced at a later date.