A new report by the Australia Institute estimates that through its sovereign wealth fund’s two-thirds ownership of Equinor, the Norwegian Government stands to make $8.1 billion from oil and gas exploration in the Great Australian Bight, which is greater than Australian taxpayers would make:
Norwegian oil company Equinor is planning exploratory drilling for oil and gas in the Great Australian Bight beginning in late 2020. Equinor is 67% owned by the Norwegian Government via its sovereign wealth fund.
We have used modelling commissioned by the oil and gas lobby to estimate the payments the Norwegian Government would receive if this oil source was developed. We then compare that to the tax payments that would be received by the South Australian and Australian Governments.
