The divestment amounts to a total of 644 million Danish crowns ($96.24 million), or around two-thirds of MP Pension’s equity holdings in oil, according to Reuters.
The $20 billion pension fund cites two reasons for divesting of the oil companies. One is their desire to contribute to the green transition and the second reason is their belief that the oil companies cannot deliver a return on a level with the broader market in the coming years.
This means that MP will no longer hold shares in ExxonMobil, BP, Chevron, PetroChina, Rosneft, Royal Dutch Shell, Sinopec, Total, Petrobras or Equinor, according to an emailed statement on Tuesday received by the Financial Post.
“Demand for oil will fall as the green transition gathers speed,” said MP Pension’s investment chief Anders Schelde. “The companies are still working against more demanding climate regulation — despite the companies’ public support for the Paris Agreement.”
MP does point out that four companies – BP, Royal Dutch Shell, Total and Equinor – have shown signs of progress in moving toward greener energy as they help in mitigating the effects of the climate crisis, but the other six companies have made little headway in moving toward cleaner energy sources.
MP Pension also notes that none of the 10 oil majors yet has a business model compatible with the Paris Climate Agreement. And MP is not done yet with its assessments of their holdings. They will assess over 1,000 oil companies before the end of 2020 as part of its goal of revamping its portfolio to be more focused on the climate.
Tuesday’s divestments represent about two-thirds of MP’s stock holdings in oil, Anders Schelde, the fund’s head of investments, said.
