World / China What Nobel Feud? China, Norway Sign Oil Deal Flap over dissident not enough to scuttle arrangement By Nick McMaster, Newser Staff Posted Dec 13, 2010 3:09 PM CST Copied This undated file photo provided by Prosafe, shows their Safe Scandinavia rig in an unknown location. Hundreds of workers were being evacuated from an oil rig in the North Sea, Sunday, Feb. 10, 2008. (AP Photo/Prosafe/ho) So much for China's hissy fit over dissident Liu Xiaobo's Nobel Peace prize: A major Chinese oil company just inked a deal with Norway's StatOil, the Wall Street Journal reports. The five-year deal will see an advanced China Oilfield Services rig deployed in the North Sea and operated by StatOil. The value of the deal is not known, but is likely many hundreds of millions of dollars. China's foreign ministry spokesman said the Nobel decision would "damage Sino-Norwegian relations" going forward. (More China stories.) Report an error