Norwegian giant Statoil is to rebrand as Equinor to reflect its “strategy and development as a broad energy company”.

Board members proposed the name this week and the new identity will be put to shareholders at an annual general meeting in May.

The outcome is however a foregone conclusion since majority owner the Norwegian government supports the proposal.

‘Equi’ was described as the starting point for words such as equal, equality and equilibrium while ‘nor’ signals “a company proud of its Norwegian origin”.

“The world is changing and so is Statoil,” said board chair Jon Erik Reinhardsen. "The biggest transition our modern-day energy systems have ever seen is underway and we aim to be at the forefront of this development.”

Statoil presented a fresh strategy in 2017 based on oil and gas, low-carbon energy and renewables. It will invest up to 20% of total capex in what it calls “new energy solutions” by 2030.

Image: Statoil