Norway's Statoil Buys US Shale Gas Land Norwegian energy company Statoil ASA says it has bought 70,000 acres of land rich in gas and liquid gas in West Virginia and Ohio. The $590 million deal expands the company's assets in the Marcellus Shale gas deposits in the Appalachian region. Company spokesman Baard Glad Pedersen said Statoil bought the latest acreage from unlisted companies Grenadier Energy Partners, Protege Energy and PetroEdge Energy. Statoil entered the Marcellus in 2008 through a partnership with Chesapeake Energy. Statoil also owns shale land in Texas and operates leases in North Dakota and Montana. Norway's government owns 67 percent of Statoil's shares.