Statoil, the Norwegian oil company, has proved critics wrong by attracting more than enough demand for its Nkr30bn (€3.8bn) initial public offering.

By Friday the issue was more than three times oversubscribed at the mid-point of the offer size, despite reports that fund managers thought the bookbuilding price should be cut. The company and the Norwegian ministry of petroleum and energy are selling between 15% and 20% of Statoil's share capital.