Lundins arrogance annoys major shareholders
The management of Lundin Petroleum is not intending to respond to demands for an independent scrutiny of the company's earlier operations in Sudan. Several major shareholders are now preparing for a fight before Thursday's annual general meeting. They consider that the company has adopted an arrogant attitude.
The oil company Lundin Petroleum will get into hot water when the shareholders gather for the meeting this week. An intensive round of informal contacts is currently taking place between the major institutional shareholders as to how they should proceed, DN Ekonomi has learnt.
AMF will announce at the beginning of the week how they intend to vote at the meeting.
Demands for further, independent reviews of the company's business have been made from several quarters, including Folksam and the organisation European Coalition on Oil in Sudan (Ecos). The proposals have already been fobbed off by Lundin Oil CEO Ashley Heppenstall, who thinks that the shareholders should instead sell their holdings if they do not trust the company.
“The Lundin family is required to appear to be spotless, not least now when they are going to extract oil in Norway,” retorts one of the bigger shareholders.
And Egbert Wesselink, who represents the Ecos organisation, observes that Heppenstall’s statement is both arrogant and unprofessional.
Ecos, which unites a large number of voluntary organisations, has previously published a critical report into Lundin Petroleum’s oil production in Sudan.
The organisation is now demanding that the meeting decide that within six months “for the sake of the shareholders” a thorough and satisfactory explanation be given of all the accusations made concerning Lundin Oil’s operations in Sudan during the period 1997 to 2003.
Neither Wesselink nor any of the others who want an independent review have any great hopes that the proposals will gain sufficient support to be carried.
“The Lundins own a good 30% of the company, but act as if they owned all of it,” is the acid comment of one of the shareholders, who wishes to remain anonymous.
Carina Lundberg Markow, Head of Responsible Ownership at Folksam, does not believe that their proposal will gain sufficient support either.
- Database Search
- Unpaid Debt A comprehensive overview of the role of the Lundin Consortium in the oil war. ECOS calls upon the Swedish, Austrian and Malaysian governments to investigate whether, as a matter of international law, Lundin, OMV and Petronas 'were complicit in the commission of war crimes and crimes against humanity by others during the period 1997-2003.’ In response, the Swedish Public Prosecutor for International crimes opened a criminal investigation into ‘links between Sweden and the reported crimes’.
- In Depth For more specific information about the Lundin court case please visit the Unpaid Debt dossier.
