War squeezes margins at Norwegian oil giants

However, the stock was down. The stock - which has risen almost 70 percent since the turn of the year - fell almost 5 percent in early trading in Oslo.

Adjusted operating profit after tax rose 27 percent to $2.9 billion in the first quarter of this year. This compares with an average forecast of $2.6 billion.

Production volume in the quarter rose almost 9 percent to a record high of 2.3 million barrels per day, compared with a forecast of 2.2 million barrels per day.