Norway’s Sovereign Investor Decides to Exclude Canadian Rival Oil Companies on Basis of GHG Emissions
Posted on 05/13/2020
Equinor ASA (formerly called Statoil and StatoilHydro) is a Norwegian multinational energy company headquartered in Stavanger, Norway. Norway is Western Europe’s largest exporter of fossil fuels and in many markets competes globally with oil companies. Operating in 36 countries, Equinor is a petroleum company at heart, but is trying to expand in renewable energy investments.
Norges Bank Investment Management (NBIM) oversees Norway Government Pension Fund Global. Norges Bank’s Executive Board, on recommendation of the Ethics Council, blacklisted four Canadian oil and gas companies from its investment portfolio due to “unacceptable greenhouse gas emissions”. These companies are Calgary-based Canadian Natural Resources Limited, Calgary-based Cenovus Energy Inc., Calgary-based Suncor Energy Inc., and Calgary-based Imperial Oil Limited. The Council on Ethics recommended to exclude the companies because of carbon emissions from production of oil to oil sands. It is the first time this criterion is being applied.
On May 11, Suncor Energy priced an offering of US$ 450 million in aggregate principal amount of senior unsecured notes due on May 15, 2023 and US$ 550 million in aggregate principal amount of senior unsecured notes due on May 15, 2025.