Snohvit, the Arctic liquefied natural gas (LNG) project, has been one of StatoilHydro's most ambitious ventures, and one of its biggest headaches.

Opened last year, Snohvit may have been a year late and 50 per cent over its original budget, but it was still an impressive demonstration of the company's ability to take on the challenge of the "far North". The project taps a gas field 340 miles inside the Arctic Circle to supply the world's most northerly LNG plant.