“It is with great sorrow that we have received the news that Torvild Aakvaag has passed away. With his relentless energy, he has been inspiring to all of us in the way he developed Hydro into a world-scale industrial company. He was by nature a pioneer and a visionary,” says President and CEO Hilde Merete Aasheim.

Aakvaag was key in reshaping Hydro from the mid-1960s and the first to head Hydro’s oil and gas division in 1970, after having been instrumental in securing Hydro’s access to oil and gas licenses on the Norwegian continental shelf. Through successful development and operations, including the Oseberg field and the Troll oil field, Hydro gained respect, acclaim and support from authorities and peers.

During his tenure as CEO, Hydro acquired a number of European fertilizer companies, establishing Hydro as a true international company with several thousand non-Norwegian employees.

Aakvaag was key in establishing Hydro as an aluminium company at Karmøy in the mid-60s, and later when Hydro acquired Årdal and Sunndal Verk (ÅSV), thereby securing the foundation for Hydro’s core business today.