Norwegian firm Statoil under pressure to withdraw from oil sands

Canadian oil sands are making headlines in Norway, as the government (which owns 67% of the oil company Statoil) is under pressure from institutional investors, opposition parties and the public to withdraw from the oil sands and invest in greener alternatives.

May 17, 2010
Posted by Keith Stewart

This will be coming to a head this week, as the We Own Statoil campaign by the Norwegian arms of WWF and Greenpeace sponsors a resolution at Statoil’s May 19 annual shareholders’ meeting that reads:

“Statoil should withdraw from tar sand activities in Canada because of the dangerous climate, environmental and social impacts. The investments in tar sands undermine international ambitions to limit the increase in global temperature to below 2 degrees Celsius. Statoil’s tar sand activities are a strategic directional move that is not in line with the company’s goals and values for sustainable development. Statoil should lead by positive example and withdraw from further tar sand developments.”

Following a tour of the tar sands in February, a number of institutional investors (including Storebrand, Swedish kPa, Folksam) have said that they will support the resolution (note: you’ll need to google-translate the article).

So far, the government has indicated that they will vote against the proposal, but may change their mind following presentations, hosted last week by WWF-Norway, by Canadians David Schindler, George Poitras and Melina Laboucan-Massimo on the environmental and social impacts of oil sands development.

And, of course, all of this is happening in the middle of Alberta Environment Minister Rob Renner’s European tour to reassure investors and governments regarding Alberta’s environmental management practices.

Detail view of slag in a tailings pond north of Fort McMurray, Alberta, Canada. The Alberta Tar Sands are the largest deposits of their kind in the world and their production is the single largest contributor to Canada's greenhouse gas emissions (c) Jiri Rezac / WWF-UK

Detail view of slag in a tailings pond north of Fort McMurray, Alberta, Canada. The Alberta Tar Sands are the largest deposits of their kind in the world and their production is the single largest contributor to Canada's greenhouse gas emissions (c) Jiri Rezac / WWF-UK

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