The Norwegian government awards production licences to cooperating companies to find and produce petroleum in specific areas.
The Norwegian government creates income from the petroleum sector through taxes and fees as well as itself being a participant in the industry.
The Norwegian government initially participated in the industry through the creation and development of the state oil company Statoil.
In the 1980s political discourse questioned this arrangement as Statoil's cash flow was becoming very large in relation to Norway's gross national product.
The states portion of the total reserves on the Norwegian shelf are as of January 1, 2005 294 million Sm3 oil and 1005 mrd Sm3 natural gas.