Several economy professors think the government should consider selling their shares in Statoil.
Tore Nilssen at the University of Oslo is one of the professors who asks the government to rethink whether it should own shares in the oil and gas company. The reasons, among others, are the government's own climate politics and Statoil's investments abroad.
"It's about time that we have a serious debate about the government's Statoil shares. In my opinion, the government should exit the company or at least drasticallly reduce their shares," says Nilssen.
Currently, the government owns 67 percent of Statoil's shares.
The economist explains that there is an enormous gap between investing in rainforest and oilsands. He thinks the government puts itself in a situation of extreme opposites. "The government's ownership could have been used to make the gap smaller, but it would require a more active ownership in individual cases," Nilssen states.
Professor Gunnar S. Eskeland at Norway's School of Economics agrees. He tells Aftenposten that he understands that there may be a sentimental aspect associated with the government's ownership of Statoil, but that people should also recognize that the company's role is not the same as before.
Several other experts also support Eskeland's and Nilssen's view, but many also fear that the company might relocate if the government decides to sell its shares.
(Aftenposten)
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