Arnfinn Madsen
06-06-2005, 12:39 PM
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Norway Excludes Kerr-McKee From Oil Fund 21 minutes ago
OSLO, Norway - Norway said Monday it has excluded U.S.-based Kerr McGee Corp. from its national oil fund because of the oil and gas company's exploration off the disputed Western Sahara region.
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The Finance Ministry said the exploration will likely enable Morocco to exploit petroleum resources in the area and undermine U.N. peace efforts there.
The ministry said approximately 337 million kroner ($52.7 million) from the Petroleum Fund was invested in stocks and bonds in Kerr McGee Corp. in 2004. The divestment has now been completed, it added.
Norway is the world's third-biggest oil exporter, after Saudi Arabia and Russia, and has been setting aside surplus revenues in the fund since 1996 as a cushion for when oil revenues begin to dwindle. The Nordic nation's offshore oil fields have a capacity of about 3.2 million barrels of oil per day, plus natural gas.
The fund is invested abroad to avoid overheating the domestic economy, with 30 to 50 percent of it in equities and the remainder in government-backed bonds.
Morocco annexed the Western Sahara, a vast mineral-rich territory colonized by Spain until 1975. Years of U.N. efforts to organize a referendum on self-determination there have been fruitless, in large part because Morocco and Polisario Front rebels have failed to agree on who could vote.
The ministry excluded Oklahoma City-based Kerr McGee on a recommendation from the oil fund's advisory council on ethics.
"The Council regarded (the exploration) as 'a particularly serious violation of fundamental ethical norms' e.g. because it may strengthen Morocco's sovereignty claims and thus contribute to undermining the U.N. peace process," the ministry said in a statement.
Shares of Kerr McGee fell 77 cents to $72.83 in morning trading on the New York Stock Exchange.
[/ QUOTE ]
Norway Excludes Kerr-McKee From Oil Fund 21 minutes ago
OSLO, Norway - Norway said Monday it has excluded U.S.-based Kerr McGee Corp. from its national oil fund because of the oil and gas company's exploration off the disputed Western Sahara region.
ADVERTISEMENT
The Finance Ministry said the exploration will likely enable Morocco to exploit petroleum resources in the area and undermine U.N. peace efforts there.
The ministry said approximately 337 million kroner ($52.7 million) from the Petroleum Fund was invested in stocks and bonds in Kerr McGee Corp. in 2004. The divestment has now been completed, it added.
Norway is the world's third-biggest oil exporter, after Saudi Arabia and Russia, and has been setting aside surplus revenues in the fund since 1996 as a cushion for when oil revenues begin to dwindle. The Nordic nation's offshore oil fields have a capacity of about 3.2 million barrels of oil per day, plus natural gas.
The fund is invested abroad to avoid overheating the domestic economy, with 30 to 50 percent of it in equities and the remainder in government-backed bonds.
Morocco annexed the Western Sahara, a vast mineral-rich territory colonized by Spain until 1975. Years of U.N. efforts to organize a referendum on self-determination there have been fruitless, in large part because Morocco and Polisario Front rebels have failed to agree on who could vote.
The ministry excluded Oklahoma City-based Kerr McGee on a recommendation from the oil fund's advisory council on ethics.
"The Council regarded (the exploration) as 'a particularly serious violation of fundamental ethical norms' e.g. because it may strengthen Morocco's sovereignty claims and thus contribute to undermining the U.N. peace process," the ministry said in a statement.
Shares of Kerr McGee fell 77 cents to $72.83 in morning trading on the New York Stock Exchange.
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