Norwegian oil and gas company Statoil ASA (STO) said Monday it has no positions in government debt or banks in Southern Europe , but has moved its cash to government debt farther north and to highly rated and safer banks.

Statoil has "chosen a very conservative line" with its cash, said Chief Financial Officer Torgrim Reitan in an interview with Dow Jones Newswires. "We have a lot of cash," he said, and when you have that, "it is very important where you place it."

Statoil has "no exposure to government debt or banks in Southern Europe ," Reitan said, adding Statoil has taken its cash "significantly further north," placing its cash in Norwegian and Danish government papers and banks with "high and safe credit ratings."

Statoil has also placed its cash in papers with shorter maturity than previously--typically one to two months--to increase its liquidity, Reitan said.

"This is all about being prepared," Reitan said, adding it is important "to have a lot of cash available if things really should go boom."

Reitan's comments follow last week's rating downgrades that hit France and eight other euro-zone nations, casting fresh doubts over the monetary union's ability to bail itself out of financial crisis and rescue its most vulnerable member, Greece .

Standard & Poor's Ratings Services on Friday said it had stripped triple-A ratings from France and Austria and downgraded seven others, including Spain , Italy and Portugal . It retained the triple-A rating on Europe 's No. 1 economy, Germany .
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