Saudi Arabia’s massive sovereign wealth fund has taken positions in two major Canadian oil sands company.
During the recent energy market downturn, Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund (PIF) bought shares in Calgary-based Canadian Natural Resources Ltd. and Suncor Energy Inc., with a 2.6% and 2% stake respectively. PIF is now the eighth largest shareholder in Canadian Natural and the 14th largest shareholder in Suncor.
The fund also bought stakes in Equinor ASA, Royal Dutch Shell Plc, Total SA and Eni SpA, during April. Saudi Arabia’s $320 billion sovereign wealth fund is run by Yasir Al-Rumayyan and controlled by Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman.
The Saudi purchase comes at a time when Norway’s wealth fund dumped oil-sands companies. Norway’s wealth fund said it will exclude Canadian Natural, Cenovus Energy Inc., Suncor and Imperial Oil Ltd. over concerns about the company’s carbon emissions.
Canadian oil producers have announced that almost 700,000 barrels per day of oil production is offline amid low prices and weak demand because of the coronavirus pandemic. Shares of Canadian Natural have lost 43% this year, while Suncor is down 46% compared with a 15% drop for the S&P/TSX Composite Index.
Suncor elected to slash its quarterly dividend 55% earlier this month, while Canadian Natural maintained its current payout.
