Norway’s sovereign wealth fund is reportedly pushing back against calls for the divestment of its oil and gas assets.
The wealth fund, which has underpinned Norway’s national pensions, was borne out of the state’s share of its North Sea oil business.
It holds substantial international oil and gas stocks, including more than US$6bn worth of Royal Dutch Shell, in addition to BP, Chevron, ExxonMobil and Total, along with notable stakes in ConocoPhillips and Schlumberger.
All such holdings have been boosted by the recovery in crude prices over the past year, and, as such have helped inflate valuations for the fund’s holdings.
There have now been calls from the Norwegian central bank to divest and diversify, but, those calls were answered by a government commission which cautioned against selling out of hydrocarbons.
“A sale of energy stocks would challenge the current investment strategy of the fund, with broad diversification of the investments and a high threshold for exclusion,” the commission said.