(Adds Statoil comment)
OSLO, July 20 (Reuters) - Norway's competition watchdog willlook into whether competition rules are being infringed in itsoil industry, the industry ministry said on Wednesday.
The ministry has asked the competition authority to providea general description of competitive conditions for oilcompanies and their suppliers to answer a question from a memberof parliament, it said.
The question from the lawmaker is whether oil firm Statoil, which is responsible for 60 percent of Norway's oiland gas output, misuses its dominant position over suppliers,the ministry said.
"It is natural to prepare a political discussion aboutcompetition conditions on the Norwegian continental shelf on agood factual basis, both on the competition situation andwhether us politicians can, or should, do something about it,"Industry Minister Monica Maeland said in a statement.
The statement did not say how long this would take.
Last month, BP and independent oil firm Det norske agreed to merge their Norwegian business in a $1.3billion all-share deal, partly to counter Statoil's dominantposition in the sector.
Statoil said it had a common interest with others to have acompetitive industry that featured many actors, that it hadbrought in new operators on the Norwegian continental shelf, andit was responsible for a lesser share of total production thanwhen it merged with the oil arm of Norsk Hydro a decadeago.
"We work closely with the suppliers' industry to do thenecessary improvements to make operations more effective,simplify, standardise and industrialise," a Statoil spokesmansaid.
"To cut costs is a part of ensuring competitiveness," hesaid, adding that Statoil would help Norwegian authorities ifthey wanted information from the company. (Reporting by Gwladys Fouche; Editing by Mark Potter)