Statoil has announced it is to rebrand itself as Equinor as the Norwegian energy giant looks to ditch connotations with fossil fuels.
The rebrand was confirmed in a statement and press conference this morning, with the company arguing that the name change supports its “strategy and development as a broad energy company”.
The new identity is to be proposed to shareholders at Statoil’s AGM on 15 May, however the process looks to be a formality as the Norwegian government, Statoil’s majority shareholder, has also issued its support.
“The world is changing, and so is Statoil. The biggest transition our modern-day energy systems have ever seen is underway, and we aim to be at the forefront of this development. Our strategy remains firm. The name Equinor reflects ongoing changes and supports the always safe, high value and low carbon strategy we outlined last year,” Jon Erik Reinhardsen, chair of the board at Statoil, said.
In ditching ‘oil’ from its brand, Statoil is following a similar track to that of DONG (Danish Oil and Natural Gas), which last year rebranded itself as Ørsted.
Statoil claims Equinor was settled on due to the combination of ‘Equi’, to mean equal or equality, with ‘Nor’, a nod to its Norwegian heritage.
“Equinor is a powerful expression of who we are, where we come from and what we aspire to be,” Eldar Sætre, chief executive officer at Statoil, said.
Sætre added that while oil and gas will remain well within Statoil’s future business plan, renewable energy will too feature, building on a new strategy launched last year when the company said it expected to invest between 15-20% of total capex in new energy solutions by 2030.
