When things are going slowly at home, it can be nice to occasionally get out of the house. But Statoil has not had a leisurely stay in Ireland, where the Norwegian oil company has lost approximately EUR 843 million in the country, reports Irish newspaper Independent. Last year alone the company's impairments in Ireland totaled EUR 244 million.

The major cause of the loss was the Corrib gas field, which was discovered 19 years ago off the coast of County Mayo. Although it is run by the Dutch-British giant Shell, Statoil holds a 36.5 percent ownership interest.