BREAKING BONDS

The Norwegian Sovereign Wealth Fund (the Oil Fund) held US$6.15 billion in bonds across 39 oil and gas developers as of June 2024. The report argues that these bonds provide fresh capital for upstream and midstream expansion, contradicting the Fund's ambition to lead in climate risk management. Case studies on TotalEnergies, Enbridge, and ExxonMobil highlight the misalignment between the Fund's financial support and the companies' lack of credible transition plans. The authors recommend a policy to halt new bond purchases from oil and gas developers and a phased divestment from existing holdings.

• As of June 30, 2024, the Norwegian Sovereign Wealth Fund held US$6.15 billion (65.5 billion NOK) in bonds across 39 oil and gas upstream and midstream developers, all of which are headquartered in Global North countries.
• A small group of 15 companies accounts for more than 80% of the Fund's bond holdings in oil and gas developers, totaling US$4.93 billion (52.52 billion NOK). The largest holdings among these are in BP plc (US$548 million), Energy Transfer LP (US$509 million), and Enbridge Inc (US$460 million).
• In the first half of 2024, the Oil Fund invested in at least 20 new bonds issued by oil and gas developers. Nearly half of these new investments (eight out of 20) have maturity dates extending beyond 2050, the global deadline for net-zero emissions, including one perpetual bond.
• The report argues that the Fund's bond investments provide 'fresh cash' that companies can use for expansion because conventional bonds typically lack restrictions on fund usage. For example, the Fund invested US$30 million in a TotalEnergies bond in April 2024 despite the company's lack of a credible climate plan.
• The potential emissions from the reserves of just two companies in the portfolio—ExxonMobil and TotalEnergies—are projected to contribute 39.5 billion tons of carbon if extracted, which is 846 times Norway's annual domestic emissions.
• TotalEnergies is the 6th largest oil and gas upstream developer globally and is pursuing the East African Crude Oil Pipeline (EACOP). The Oil Fund is one of its largest bondholders (US$290.7 million) and has voted in favor of the company's climate plan in 2023 and 2024.
• Enbridge Inc, Canada's largest fossil fuel pipeline company, has 12 bonds held by the Oil Fund that expire after 2050, with some extending to 2084. The Fund holds US$460 million in Enbridge bonds despite the company's minimal commitment to renewable energy growth projects (0.084% of capital expenditures between 2024 and 2028).
• ExxonMobil relies heavily on bonds, which provided 47% of its external financing between 2016 and 2023. The Oil Fund holds US$306.7 million in ExxonMobil bonds. The company is noted for resisting the transition, including filing a lawsuit against shareholders who proposed scope 3 emission targets.

APA

Reclaim Finance (n.d.). BREAKING BONDS. https://reclaimfinance.org/site/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/Breaking-Bonds-report.pdf

Chicago

Reclaim Finance. BREAKING BONDS. n.d. https://reclaimfinance.org/site/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/Breaking-Bonds-report.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=Reclaim Finance |title=BREAKING BONDS |url=https://reclaimfinance.org/site/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/Breaking-Bonds-report.pdf |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{reclaimfinancendbreaking, author = {{Reclaim Finance}}, title = {{BREAKING BONDS}}, institution = {Reclaim Finance}, url = {https://reclaimfinance.org/site/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/Breaking-Bonds-report.pdf}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }