Exxon Mobil Corporation (XOM)

[tw0122]

Exxon to take major hit on stock price as Sovereign fund announces plans to sell millions of its shares. Norway’s trillion-dollar sovereign wealth fund, is set to phase out oil and gas companies from its benchmark index and sell their shares, the government has announced, citing potential financial risks.
“The objective is to reduce the vulnerability of our common wealth to a permanent oil price decline,” the Finance Ministry said, announcing the decision on Friday.

It noted that the move is aimed at diversification and that the oil industry will remain a “major industry in Norway for many years to come.” However, the statement noted that permanent reduction in the crude prices “will have long-term implications for public finances.
Norway is one of western Europe’s biggest oil and gas producers. The sovereign wealth fund, known officially as the Government Pension Fund, owns around $40 billion of shares in oil companies such as BP, ExxonMobil and Chevron