Statoil has announced it may sell its Irish operations which includes petrol stations, terminals and oil distribution businesses. It has interests in 236 petrol stations - 70 of which are fully owned by the company. The rest are dealer owned with service contracts with Statoil. Jacob Schram, Statoil's senior vice president of retail in Europe, says the firm intends to accelerate its strategic commitment to its markets in Scandinavia and Eastern Europe. Tesco is thought to be eyeing up parts of the network.