Norway’s Statoil changes name to Equinor to reflect new clean energy strategy

Norway-based oil group, Statoil has announced it intends to rebrand as Equinor. The company said the new name is intended to reflect its transition to global energy, as it is developing as a broad energy company.

“The name Equinor captures our heritage and values, and what we aim to be in the future,” said Statoil’s president and CEO, Eldar Sætre. The new name is the combination of the word “equi”, the starting point for words like equal, equality and equilibrium, and the word “nor”, which is expected to reflect the company’s Norwegian origin.

The new name will now have to be approved at the Annual General Meeting on May 15.

In its new strategy presented in 2017, Statoil announced a plan to invest 15-20% of total capex in new energy solutions by 2030. In October, the company also revealed a plan to enter the solar energy business in May, when it launched a $197 million fund dedicated to renewable energies.

Later in October, it acquired acquire a 40% stake in a 162 MW project in Brazil from Norwegian solar developer, Scatec Solar. Furthermore, Scatec said it created a 50/50 joint venture with Statoil in Brazil, which is expected to build and operate large-scale PV projects in the country over the next year.

Statoil is also active in both on-shore and off-shore wind energy, and is developing solutions in carbon capture and storage.

Another energy giant, French group Engie (formerly known as GDF Suez) changed its name to reflect its transition to decarbonization and the development of renewable energy sources in April of 2015.

Since then, it has entered the solar business through several M&A operations, and the construction of several large-scale and DG solar and renewable energy projects in many countries in which it is operating.