ConocoPhillips and ExxonMobil next to be questioned on oil sands risk

Following on from BP's annual general meeting last week at which 15% of the share register withheld support from management over an investor campaign for better information on economic and environmental risks associated with BP’s tar sands project in Canada, American and British investors are now questioning additional oil companies on their investments in Canadian oil sands.

Over 6% of BP shareholders voted in favour of a resolution – co-ordinated by campaign group FairPensions UK - for further disclosure on carbon and oil price assumptions at the company's planned $2.8bn Sunrise SAGD development, a 50/50 venture with Canada’s Husky Energy. A further 9.2% of shareholders abstained from voting – which is generally seen as a warning sign of disgruntlement with the company’s approach.

Investors from both sides of the Atlantic have now filed resolutions for ConocoPhillips and ExxonMobil's annual general meetings – in addition to those already filed for BP and Shell - which ask the companies to report on the financial, environmental and social risks associated with their oil sands investments.

FairPensions UK, the California State Teachers Retirement Fund (CalSTRS), and Boston-based Green Century Capital Management (Green Century) are amongst those coordinating the shareholders' efforts.

The campaign continues to attract international support from NGOs, faith groups, politicians and celebrities, including Radiohead's Thom Yorke. Institutional investors associated with the United Nation's Principles for Responsible Investment (PRI), such as Boston Common Asset Management, Calvert Asset Management Co., Inc., Co-Operative Asset Management, Ethos Foundation, Unison Staff Pension Scheme, and Walden Asset Management, have expressed public support for BP's and Shell's oil sands resolutions.


Click here for more information on the FairPensions Tar Sands Campaign.

Mark Robertson