Shares in Norwegian oil company Okea rose 4.7% at the opening of trading on the Oslo bourse on Wednesday, a day after the Norwegian government proposed changes to the petroleum tax system.
The coalition led by Prime Minister Erna Solberg proposed overhauling taxation of its oil and gas firms late on Tuesday in a surprise move, further heating up a pre-election debate over the future of the country's top industry.
The proposal's overall impact will likely be higher tax revenue for the state over time, while reducing incentives for oil companies to take excessive risk on potentially loss-making projects.
The biggest beneficiaries are likely to be small firms with a high-weighted average cost of capital, as tax deductions would be made sooner and therefore could reduce borrowing needs, Sparebank 1 Markets said in a note to clients.
"Okea probably is a relative winner," the brokerage wrote following the government announcement.
(Reporting by Gwladys Fouche, editing by Terje Solsvik)
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