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NOK 25 billion of Norway’s oil wealth invested in Russia

Norway's oil wealth is invested in Russia's emerging markets. Photo: Thomas Nilsen

Government’s pension fund owns shares in 63 Russian companies and has for the first time invested in government bonds issued by Moscow.

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The fund, officially named Government Pension Fund Global, is especially interested in Russian petroleum producers, but also suppliers to the energy grid and telecom companies are high up on the list of Norway’s investments in Russia.

The value of the fund’s investments in Russia was just over NOK 25 billion (€3,3 billion) by December 31, 2012. 

Gazprom tops the list, where Norway’s value of the 0,91 percent of the shares in the company is NOK 5,7 billion (€751 million). Russia’s largest private oil company, Lukoil, is number two on the list where the fund’s 1,78 percent of the shares is worth NOK 5,5 billion (€731 million).

Other petroleum companies include Bashneft, Novatek, Gazprom Neft and Transneft. 

Gazprom Neft operates the Prirazlomnaya field in the eastern Barents Sea, Russia’s first European Arctic off-shore field believed to start pumping oil this autumn. Novatek is main partner in the new LNG plant to be built on Russia’s Yamal Peninsula.

The fund also owns shares in several industrial and mining companies with sub-divisions on the Kola Peninsula, including iron-ore miner Severstal in Olenogorsk and fertilizer giant PhosAgro in Apatity.

In 2009, the Norwegian Government’s pension fund evicted Norilsk-Nickel after the fund’s ethics council said the company’s factories were afflicting environmental damages which clashes with the fund’s guidelines.

The fund increased its investments in emerging markets last year and for the first time invested in government bonds from countries such as Taiwan, Russia and Turkey.

Total market value of the fund was NOK 3,816 billion (€506 billion) at the end of 2012, making it one of the world’s largest investment funds. An overview of the fund’s holdings in Russia and world-wide is available online.