(Adds analyst's comment, share price reaction; refiloed tocorrect punctuation in first paragraph)
* Q4 adjusted EBIT NOK 15.2 bln vs NOK 13.9 bln in poll
* Forecasts 2016 capex $13 bln vs 2015 capex of $14.7 bln
By Gwladys Fouche and Stine Jacobsen
OSLO/LONDON, Feb 4 (Reuters) - Norway's Statoil pledged on Thursday to keep cutting capital spending as oilprices fall, after reporting better than expected fourth-quarterresults, and said it would give shareholders the option to taketheir dividends in shares instead of cash.
Statoil said it now plans capital spending this year to bein the order of $13 billion, down from $14.7 billion in 2015.Last October it had forecast total capital spending in 2015would be $16.5 billion.
Oil and gas firms have been cutting costs as oil prices havedropped by around 70 percent since mid-2014.
ExxonMobil earlier this week said it would cut itscapital spending for this year by a quarter while Royal DutchShell on Thursday vowed further cuts.
"Cost deflation has visibly intensified offshore Norway inthe past year and this is clearly reflected in today's low capex(capital expenditure) guidance," said Redburn analyst Rob West,who has a 'neutral' rating on the stock. "For long-termistshareholders, I believe Statoil's outlook has now improved."
Statoil reported an adjusted operating profit of 15.2billion crowns ($1.78 billion), down from 26.9 billion crowns inthe same quarter a year ago. That was ahead of expectations for13.9 billion crowns according to a Reuters poll of analysts.
Shares in Statoil were up 7.61 percent at 0942 GMT and wereamong the top performers on both the Stoxx Europe 600 oil andgas sector index, up 2.58 percent, and the Oslo sharemarket index, up 1.95 percent. It was its besttrading day in seven years.
Statoil said it would make a fourth-quarter dividend paymentof $0.2201 per share and would continue to pay the same levelfor the first three quarters of this year despite calls fromlabour unions and some politicians in Norway to reduce payouts.
But Statoil announced on Thursday it would give investorsthe option for the next two years to receive dividends either ascash or in the form of new Statoil shares at a discount.
"Ultimately we see this as an admission that the dividend atcurrent levels is not sustainable," said RBC Capital Marketsanalyst Biraj Borkhataria.
"We would have preferred to see a rebasement rather thanshare dilution, although this now brings Statoil in line withmost of the sector."
Italy's Eni is the only European oil major so farto have cut its dividend.
The Norwegian government separately confirmed it would backthe dividend scheme and that its 67 percent stake in Statoilwould be kept unchanged.
($1 = 8.5499 Norwegian crowns) (Editing by Kenneth Maxwell and Greg Mahlich)
