Read the Initial Assessment published 27 February 2022: English
On 31 May 2022, the Norwegian NCP received complaints against Aker BP ASA, a Norwegian oil exploration and development company and Aker ASA, a Norwegian industrial investment company on behalf of an estimated 200,000 South Sudanese alleged victims of gross and systematic human rights violations from the following eight organisations: the Civil Society Coalition on Natural Resources, Global Idé, Liech Victims Voices, Norwegian Church Aid, Norwegian People’s Aid, PAX, South Sudan Council of Churches and Swedwatch (‘the complainants’). The complainants claim that Aker BP ASA has not observed the General Policies (Chapter II) and Human Rights (Chapter IV) provisions of the Guidelines. Specifically, the issues raised relate to Aker BP ASA’s merger with Lundin Energy Norway AS and include: 1) inadequate human rights due diligence relating to the merger, 2) failure to meaningfully engage with stakeholders, and 3) facilitation of ongoing (unremediated) adverse impacts.
On 27 February 2023, the Norwegian NCP issued an initial statement partially accepting the case. The questions deemed to merit further examination relate to the due diligence expectations with respect to Aker BP ASA. The extent to which Aker ASA is included in the dialogue will be discussed with the parties and determined at the outset of the dialogue. The NCP will offer the parties a dialogue on the companies’ due diligence in connection with the transaction.
A parallel criminal case is currently pending in Sweden, which the NCP considers will not be decisive for examining the questions raised about the companies’ due diligence in connection with the acquisition.