You must answer about Equinors payments in Angola after cases E24 – E24

Following the Aftenbladet / E24 cases regarding Equinor’s transfers to social contributions in Angola, the Labor Party and SV demand a review from the Minister of Oil and Energy, Tina Bru (H).

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

The case received a lot of attention four years ago, and in the spring of 2016, the Control and Constitution Committee sent several sharp letters to then-Minister of Oil and Energy Tord Lien (Frp), with questions about the money and what Equinor had agreed to. in Angola.

Dag Terje Andersen, representative of the Storting for the Labor Party and chairman of the Storting constitution and control committee, now confirms that the committee is once again asking the Minister of Oil and Energy on the matter.

– Today we sent a letter to the minister, in which we referred to the correspondence on the case in the previous round, and then we asked if the minister can explain how the case has been followed, says Andersen.

Andersen says it was he who took the initiative to ask Bru the question, but says it was done with the support of the rest of the constitution and control committee.

– When there are media reports like this, it is natural that we ask the Minister to explain the follow-up.

The Ministry of Oil and Energy will respond to the letter.

– The Ministry has received the letter from the Control and Constitution Commission. Of course, it will be answered, says communications manager Ole Berthelsen.

Andersen’s colleague in the Labor Party, Martin Kolberg, was chairman of the Constitution and Control Committee the last time questions were asked about the Equinor transfers to Angola.

Kolberg said earlier this week that he believes the committee should take up the matter.

– The development in the case documents that all the questions and the commitment that the control committee had were well founded, and shows that the answers we received when the case was processed today are not satisfactory for the reality of the case, Kolberg told E24 .

Equinor: – Legal payments

Equinor has repeatedly told E24 that it is the Angolan state oil company Sonangol that is responsible for executing the projects that Equinor has been financing.

They note that the payments are not considered to be in conflict with relevant anti-corruption legislation. Equinor also says they gave “comprehensive statements on the matter to the MPE in 2016 in relation to the issue that was on the agenda then.”

– Since then, we have regularly followed up on the case with Sonangol both in writing and in meetings to ensure that its contractual obligations are met. We note that Sonangol now signals the start of construction in 2021 and we will continue to demand progress on the case, Erik Haaland, spokesman for Equinor’s international operations, told E24 yesterday.

Sonangol has written in a statement to E24 that they will start building the research center in 2021, but that they do not know how much it will cost. They have not answered questions about cash flow to the research center, but claim they are in possession of the money.

Sonangol has not answered questions about what social projects Equinors has funded NOK 295 million.

– Thoroughly reviewed

Faced with criticism from Martin Kolberg and Lars Haltbrekken, SV’s parliamentary representative, earlier this week, Oil and Energy Minister Tina Bru noted that questions about Equinor’s social contribution in Angola were “thoroughly reviewed when the Control and Constitution Committee addressed the matter in 2016. “

– The case raised both questions of principle about the division of responsibilities and work between the ministry as owner and the company, as well as specific questions related to payments, which were answered by the ministry and Equinor, Bru told E24.

He also noted that there have been “no new payments in the case” since 2016, and said Equinor has reported that they have followed up “with Sonangol and the Angolan authorities, and requested information on the progress in the completion of the research and technology center.” . .

According to Bru, the ministry has had regular dialogue with Equinor about the follow-up, and the matter has been a topic in property meetings between incumbent ministers and the Equinor board chairman. Bru said he will also address the issue at a meeting this fall on Equinor’s international activities.

– Regarding the requirement that individual projects at Equinor must be thoroughly reviewed by the ministry and the Storting, I would like to emphasize that the MPE exercises the state’s property policy, as it has been anchored in various reports to the Storting and a vast majority in the Storting, Bru said.