The Norwegian State
Background
Unlike typical corporations founded by individual entrepreneurs, ambitious visionaries, or private institutional investors, Equinor (originally established under the name Den norske stats oljeselskap A/S, or Statoil) was deliberately and established by the sovereign government of Norway. Following the game-changing discovery of the giant Ekofisk oil field in the late 1960s, the Norwegian parliament recognized the urgent, strategic need to build domestic expertise and retain firm national control over the country's immense, newly discovered offshore wealth. They wanted to avoid the 'resource curse' that plagued other oil-rich nations.
Role at Equinor ASA
Founded by an unanimous, historic act of the Storting (the Norwegian national parliament) in 1972, the state-owned entity was explicitly designed to act as the primary commercial instrument of Norway's national petroleum policy. The government aimed to ensure that the profits generated from the Norwegian Continental Shelf would primarily benefit the Norwegian people, funding the nation's expansive, generous social welfare system and long-term sovereign wealth fund.