Aker BP writing style guide

This style guide for language and spelling in Aker BP will help ensure consistent communication and one voice for the company. Our writing style is an important part of our identity and should be used for all written communication, internal and external. 

Aker BP’s business language is British English. 

When further clarification is required, refer to the Economist style guide for English, and to Språkrådets norm for Norwegian.  

General 

Upper/lower case

The trend in modern English is towards lower case (small letters), so initial capitals should be restricted to proper names only, and not used for common nouns. A project name should generally speaking only include an initial capital if the word concerned is a proper noun, e.g.: Statfjord late life.  

Occasionally the use of capital letters is necessary to highlight an important text feature or make a distinction, e.g.: “All those who work in Finance….” Here we are referring to the organisational entity and the use of an initial capital makes it clear that this is a specific reference and not a general one. But you should never use capital letters just because you think something is important. If in doubt, don’t use a capital. 

Use of lower case letters

• Job titles: Karl Johnny Hersvik, administrerende direktør i Aker BP.  
• Departments and business units: drilling & wells, people and organisation, communications.  
• Executive management team, group, board of directors, annual general meeting.  
• Events, training, and courses: the supplier day, annual code of conduct training. 
• Seasons and hemispheres  

Abbreviations 

Write the word out in full in the first instance and follow it with the abbreviation in parentheses. Aker BP’s information management technology (IMT). If the word only appears once, do not abbreviate it.  

Dates and times 

Use the format day, month, year. Only use comma when the day of the week is included. Always write out the month: 31 December 2022 or Saturday, 31 December 2022.  

Date ranges 

In headings and body text: 2011-2012 

In sentences with ‘from’ or ‘between’ write out in full: from 2017 to 2020, between 2005 and 2006.  

Times 

Use 24-hour format as follows: 10:00, 22:00.  

Time ranges: 10:00-14:00 

Money  

Currencies:  Use USD or NOK, e.g. USD 10 million, NOK 10 million – OR, write out in text:  10 million (US) dollars / 10 million (Norwegian) kroner. If spelling out in text, only necessary to add the (US) or (Norwegian) the first time it occurs in the text. 

Write: USD million, not MUSD. NOK million, not MNOK etc.  

Words or figures  

Numbers up to nine as words: one, three.  

Numbers beyond nine as figures: 10, 41.  

Avoid starting a sentence with a number – for example, write Ten wells were drilled last year – NOT 10 wells were drilled last year. Sentences can usually be reworded to accomplish this. 

Exception: in reference to pages (ref. page 3), in percentages (e.g. 4%), and in decimals or measures (e.g. 3.1 or 7 metres).  

Large numbers  

Comma is used as thousands separator – e.g. 1,000,000.  

Use a period to separate decimals, e.g. 1,000,000.8.  

Add a zero if there is no digit before a decimal point. E.g. 0.2 (not: .2) 0.575 (not: .575) 

Ranges should be number-dash-number, no spaces: 40-50  

Percent  

Is written in one word.  

28% (no space between 28 and percentage symbol)  

In body text, please write 28 percent (not per cent)  

Negative numbers 

Amounts are written like this -2,001 (no brackets)  

Measures  

When using abbreviations for measures, numbers should be used.  

Number-abbreviation 7m, 6’, 7kg, 10mm (no space between number and abbreviation) 

In full text: seven meters, six inches, seven kilos, ten millimetres.  

Telephone numbers  

International telephone numbers are displayed with a + symbol and the international country code. Don’t separate with hyphens. E.g. US: +1 630 821 3456. 

Footnotes

Always use footnotes 1), not *). 

Spacing  

No double spacing after punctuation. Do not use space inside brackets, hence ( not like this ). 

Bullet points  

Do not use full stops at the end of bullets (bullets should not normally include full sentences). 

Quotation marks  

Use single quotation marks to enclose an unfamiliar word or phrase. E.g. This technology uses multiple ‘source’ boats to send seismic signals. Use double quotation marks for direct speech only. E.g. “This has been another good quarter and a strong financial result,”  

Excl. 

Incl. 

Photo captions  

Should include project or activity name or description, location or “fun fact”:  

“Main contractor, Valhall, Norway. Valhall was the first brownfield conversion to electric power from shore in Norway.”  

Photo credits  

Are written without brackets: Photo: Anne Lise Norheim 

Tone of voice 

Use the active voice 

An active voice shows ownership and confidence. Passive language is too formal and indifferent: 

Passive: The proposal was accepted by the committee. 

Active: The committee accepted the proposal. 

Passive: The matter will be considered by us. 

Active: We will consider the matter. 

Use gender-inclusive language 

The words you use can signal inclusion or exclusion. Avoid alienating your audience by using gender-inclusive writing.  

– Where possible avoid gendered pronouns such as he or she.  

– Use a gender-neutral alternative where appropriate. 

Example: chairman = chair or chairperson 

Show, don’t tell 

Illustrate information with tangible examples like case studies, interviews, and meaningful data. This brings information to life and increases credibility. 

Write short sentences and use headings and subheadings 

Aim for 10-25 words per sentence.

Guide readers with short, clear headlines and subheadings. 

Avoid repeated use of the same word in the same paragraph.