– The case of Angola is extremely serious for Equinor – E24

Before the summer, Une Bastholm proposed the establishment of a Storting-appointed commission of inquiry to investigate Equinor’s activities abroad.

The proposal came after Dagens Næringsliv’s disclosure that the company has lost $ 20 billion in the United States. However, Bastholm believes that the controversial activity in Angola should also be investigated and that it will be a natural part of the commission’s mandate.

– The cases are different, but both are so serious that they could have led to the resignation of the head of Equinor had they been revealed earlier, says Bastholm.

– incomprehensible

The proposal will be considered by the Storting in mid-October. However, the recommendation of the Control and Constitution Committee, which has examined the case, shows that SV is the only party that supported the Green Party (ODM).

– It is an incomprehensible disclaimer that the Storting does not want to investigate these cases, says Bastholm.

Recently, Aftenbladet / E24 has written several cases about the oil industry in Angola and Equinor’s operations there.

Between 2011 and 2016, the company paid NOK 420 million to Angola’s state oil company Sonangol for a research center that has yet to be built. In addition, Equinor paid 295 million for “social projects”, which do not know what it has been used for.

E24 has also revealed that Equinor has been for several years a partner in the infamous “88 Queensway Group” network on an oil block in Angola.

– You must know who is responsible

Bastholm has reacted especially strongly to money paid for undefined social projects.

– It is extremely serious that they have signed a contract with open eyes that actually says that the company has no control over whether the money goes to corruption, terrorism, swimming pools for the elite or to build a school, says Bastholm.

The Control Committee has thus rejected an investigation and, among other things, has justified it with the fear that the debate will be postponed. Quick management signals are noted to be important in the case.

– The explanation is completely incomprehensible and does not hold. Equinor can improve today, but we need to know who is responsible and if something criminal has happened, Bastholm says.

The Auditor General’s Office has already announced that it will review Equinor’s foreign investment this fall. Bastholm believes that is not enough.

– A more extensive review is needed. There is talk of large sums and a possible corruption scandal. This case is about an abuse of the trust that the Norwegian people have placed in Equinor and a violation of Norwegian interests abroad, he says.

– Payments have been legal

Erik Haaland is the spokesperson for Equinor’s international operations.

– We have openly reported on write-offs and activity in the US And we also refer to the next report, where a team led by PWC has conducted a review of our US operations, Haaland says.

On what happened in Angola, he says the following:

– It is important to note that payments and activities in Angola have been legal and in accordance with current anti-corruption regulations. We have demonstrated transparency in reporting payments even though this initially violated Angolan law, and we follow up with both Sonangol and the authorities.

In a recent interview with Aftenbladet / E24, Eldar Sætre, who will soon step down as CEO of Equinor, said that the company likely would have acted differently today.

– As Eldar Sætre has said, we probably think differently and probably would not have done it the same way today, especially when it comes to social contributions and that we should know the ownership of our partners, says Haaland.

Also for Equinor, as in the rest of the business community, we have seen over time a development of the practice and the way we monitor and guarantee the rights of overview and transparency, he says.

– Various scandals

Freddy André Øvstegård (SV) was the only one who supported Bastholm’s proposal in the control committee.

– It is because now we have seen several extensive scandals in which Equinor scolds and revokes with community funds, in the style of a cowboy in the United States and in the style of corruption in Angola, says Øvstegård.

– Therefore, the issue must be elucidated through an independent investigation, so that the Storting can draw the correct conclusions about the corporate governance of the company, he adds.

It is often said that there should be an “arm’s length distance” between Equinor and the principal owner of the estate. Øvstegård believes that the argument does not hold.

– In this way, responsibility is moved away from the state as owner. He doesn’t hold up when it comes to such major scandals with a company owned by the Norwegian people, he says and emphasizes that he and SV are in favor of more active corporate governance of Equinor.

Think that research is not natural

Dag Terje Andersen (Labor Party) heads the Control and Constitution Committee. He opposed the research proposal.

– It would be unnatural in this case. A commission of inquiry appointed by the Storting is something that is rarely used. It was used, for example, after the Scandinavian Star crash, Andersen says.

– And then it is the case that the Minister made a statement on the case of the United States in the Storting. It is now under scrutiny by the Energy and Environment Committee, so the Storting is already scrutinizing it. If a commission of inquiry was appointed, it would be a long time before the matter was debated in the Storting.

– Are you sure the case will receive as thorough a review as it deserves?

– The Storting must first assess what the Minister has known, said and done. The case is dealt with in the energy and environment commission, so it is natural that they are the ones who can comment on how they intend to follow up on the case.

The spokesperson for the Energy and Environment Committee’s treatment of Equinor’s losses in the US is Espen Barth Eide (Labor Party).

– We must clarify what the state knew about this. There are more and more things, also in Angola, that need to be cleaned in addition to cleaning in the US, Barth Eide previously told E24.