"Norway's Statoil sets precedent with government payment disclosure", 19 Mar 2015

Norwegian energy firm Statoil released unprecedented detail about its payments to governments around the world on Thursday, even as some of its rivals are fighting new rules that will require increased disclosure..."This report, a first of its kind, represents a milestone in transparency efforts both by the Norwegian government and Statoil."...EU member states have to pass similar transparency rules by mid-2015 and Britain already adopted rules last December requiring energy firms to disclose payments from this year...Civil groups...hailed the European regulations, arguing that it will make it more difficult for energy firms to avoid paying taxes in countries where they operate and it would also make it more difficult to make illicit payments...