Commentary: Statoil ahead of other oil firms in investing in renewable energy
"Can a Norwegian company with 'oil' in its name transform into a wind company?", 22 Jan 2016
…[I]f you’re an oil company, you produce oil. Energy economist John Reilly at the MIT Sloan School of Management says companies like ExxonMobil and Chevron are facing a classic business challenge…But…remember, these are the richest companies in the world. “Most of them have lots of cash. And so, if there’s a successful alternative, if they don’t develop it, they probably can acquire those companies and transition that way,” says Reilly…Bjørn Sverdrup, the [Statoil]’s senior vice president for sustainability…says Statoil…is looking beyond oil by investing in renewable energies like off-shore wind…[W]hen I hear the name Statoil, I think of oil, not wind. I asked if he envisions a time when Statoil could have no oil in its portfolio…? “The energy transition will take a long period of time” says Sverdrup. “We need to change the infrastructure of societies. Only last year we sold 70 million vehicles.”…[Also refers to BP, Hess, and Shell.]