StatoilHydro's Nigerian taxes had been in dispute over real estate estimates and payroll concerns in Lagos, where the company's Nigerian headquarters are located. Armed police and tax officials, however, appeared at the office in force last week and StatoilHydro personnel responded by writing $800,000 worth of checks.

"It was a special situation," said Kjersti T. Morstol, a company spokesman, reported Aftenposten, one of Norway's leading newspapers.

The incident has reportedly caused some alarm among other international concerns in Lagos. In the incident, among 20 Nigerians were involved in the confrontation, the paper said.